Resisting Destiny
by lionheart555
Summary: Can someone really change destiny? If so, should they? What are the consequences? These questions are at the forefront of Team Sevens' minds as they strike a bargain with Madara Uchiha. A Naruto/Sakura pairing. Inspired by: Rurouni12065
1. Prologue

Prologue

**Prologue**

A chilling breeze swept across the endless sea of a desert, sweeping up large curtains of sand. On top of a small dune, two men faced off. Below them, others watched with some amount of anticipation. Both men were relatively the same size, and both had the same determined look in them. One had dark hair, and an odd set of red eyes with three dots in them. This man wore a blue-white T-shirt with a symbol of a fire being fanned by wind on its back. On his head, he wore a forehead protector, showing a leaf with a slash across it. His name is Sasuke Uchiha, one of two remaining survivors of the Uchiha Clan.

On the other side, a blonde man stared him down. Distinct features on his face distinguished him from the other. For one, his bright blue eyes provided an obvious contrast to the other man's red. On his cheeks were six small lines that seemed to resemble whiskers. He wore a black jacket, with square-like patterns of orange near the bottom. His orange pants, black sandals, and black forehead protector completed his outfit. The same leaf symbol was on this man's protector; only it did not have a slash across it. This man's name was Naruto Uzumaki, the strongest Genin in Leaf Village.

"Looks like it's come down to this," said Naruto, darkly. He shook for a second, "Damnit Sasuke, why do you gotta be so stubborn? Come back with us. Repent for your crimes."

"Why?" asked Sasuke, with a sneer. "Even if I were to come back with you, what would I be returning to? That wreck of a place you still call home? Open your eyes Naruto! The world as we know it is gone. Everything you and I worked to achieve has been lost. Even the village has been destroyed!"

Naruto's jaw hardened at the mention of the village he grew up in. It was true. The story went all the way back to the discovery of the organization called Akatsuki. With their black robes with red cloud designs, they had gone from country to country, seeking the nine tailed beasts and their hosts. And one by one, they had slowly obtained each and every one. All of them save for the eight and nine tails. Strangely enough, none of the Akatsuki members, including its leader, could ever manage to defeat their hosts. Time and time again, they failed to kill the Cloud Ninja Killer Bee, as well as the same blonde who now stood against Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto Uzumaki…the host of the nine-tailed fox and without a doubt the next Hokage should there ever be one.

With each attempt, Akatsuki members began to dwindle. From the original ten, they dwindled down to just one; Madara Uchiha. The puppet master Sasori had been crushed by Sakura and Chiyo. Kakuzu had been executed by Kakashi after having been severely injured by Naruto. Hidan had been left for dead after having his body destroyed by Shikamaru. Deidara and Itachi were both killed by Sasuke. The scourge of mist village, Kisame, was defeated by Killer Bee and his brother, the Raikage. Their spy and hunter Zetsu had been defeated by the Sand Village Kazekage Gaara. The acting leader Pein as well as his partner Konan had both attacked leaf Village, causing much of it to be destroyed.

Fortunately, Naruto arrived, single handedly wiping out Pein's six bodies before confronting the original himself. Despite Pein's immense chakra and his attempts to confront Naruto's justice, he was brought back to his senses by Naruto's vow to restore peace and order to the ninja world. Meanwhile, Konan had defected, allying herself and the Land of Rain with Naruto.

As the last one, Madara, in possession of seven tailed beasts, gained control of them, and launched a devastating attack upon the world along with his remaining supporters. While Leaf mustered its remaining might, the other Shinobi nations banded together to defend the last remaining beast host on earth. Enemies set aside their distrust and anger with each other. But alas, against the might of seven tailed, many of those nations and villages fell. The smaller villages: Rain, Sound, Waterfall, and all others were the first to lose all their forces. The first Great Nation, Cloud, fell after that. However, the brute nature of its forces as well as the valiant stand by the eight tailed host Killer Bee felled two tailed beasts. The next to go was Rock Village. The old Tsuchikage proved his worth and he and his village destroyed two more beasts. The next to fall was the weakened Mist Village. Led by the Mizukage, its small force only managed to eliminate one of the tailed beasts, before utter destruction. After that, it was sand village. Led by the greatest Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand; who ironically once held a tailed beast of his own; they made their stand. In one of the most brilliant displays of strategy, Gaara single handedly killed off three of the remaining four beasts, forcing Madara to kill him instead. Their allies, Team Seven from Leaf Village, arrived too late, and saw only the charred remains of their friends. In one of the saddest moments of their lives, Team Seven honored their allies by burying the remaining corpses of his brother-in-arms.

With four of the Great Shinobi Villages out of the way, Madara and his last tailed beast turned their attention to Leaf; still arguably the strongest village of the five. Weakened already by the rampages of the first seven beasts, and from Pein's initial attack, their forces were halved. When Madara and the eight tails attacked, even Leaf succumbed to its might. The last Sannin, Tsunade died in the arms of her apprentice, Sakura Haruno. The battle was long and Shinobi after Shinobi fell until only four remained. Team Seven: Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, and Sakura, with the first three having returned recently from Sand Village.

With the strength of Naruto's nine-tails, he single handedly succeeded where countless others had failed. He had utterly destroyed the last tailed beast. All might have ended their however. Weakened by chakra exhaustion, Naruto was unable to fend off Madara Uchiha. The Uchiha's final attack might have killed Naruto, save for a last minute appearance by Sasuke Uchiha and his allies. Saving his former team, he forced a battle exhausted Madara to flee.

It seemed like a break was in order until Danzo showed up with a group of ANBU. After a fierce fight which resulted in Sasuke losing an arm, Danzo was defeated. It was then that Team Seven had learned what Madara had revealed to Sasuke. Their world had gone topsy-turvy then. Itachi had been ordered to kill the Uchiha Clan. Madara had exiled himself, before attacking the village. The Uchiha could control the nine-tailed fox. All of it was mind-boggling.

Before they could ponder these thoughts, Sasuke had summoned Manda, the Great Snake Lord, and escaped. Since then, Team Seven put all their efforts into finding Sasuke and Madara, who had hidden himself. And now, at the top of this sandy dune, Naruto confronts one of the last surviving Uchihas. Down below, Sasuke's three supporters lay defeated, with Sakura, Kakashi, and Sai as the victors.

"So," said Naruto, "what are you going to do now? Don't tell me you're just going to disappear; hide yourself just like Madara, eh? You can't think of anything except your fucked up life. Don't you remember our days as a team? You must have…otherwise you wouldn't have saved my life."

"Hn," grunted Sasuke. "Don't mistake my intentions, Naruto. I only saved you out of pity." It was clear in his eyes, however, that Sasuke did not mean these words. "In any case, I'm not rejoining Team Seven, Naruto."

"You bastard," growled Naruto.

Sasuke did not reply. "Don't you get it," shouted Naruto, flailing his arms into the air. "True power…the thing you've been seeking all these years. Ever since the time of Itachi, all you cared about was getting stronger. Think about Orochimaru. He was a gifted genius, but he failed to see beyond techniques. And now where is he? Trapped inside your body; his own technique having backfired upon him."

"Actually," corrected Sasuke, "Itachi killed his spirit."

Naruto's mouth dropped in confusion, "Wha? Wait, no…that's beside the point! When will it end, huh? Stop running away. Come back with us…your true friends. Together, we'll be unstoppable."

For a moment, it seemed Sasuke might succumb. His eyes seemed to have unfocused, and he was looking at Naruto oddly. However, the same dark look took over once again. "No, Naruto. I couldn't go back to you guys… No! I don't need you guys. I'm going after Madara. A man like him can't be left alone. And then…I'll gladly end my life."

"WHAT," shouted Naruto, "you freaking emo son of a bitch! How the fuck do you think Sakura would feel, huh? I'm not the only one who still feels empty without you."

Sasuke shifted his attention to the pink haired medic who gazed up at him. "Sakura, huh? I heard you two were married…congratulations…"

"Th-Argh! You're evading the question…"

"Look," said Sasuke, "nothing you can say will change my mind. I can't go back and I'm not going to give up. The only thing I can do is keep moving forward."

"That so? Well, that's not going to stop me from trying is it? If I have to knock you out and drag you back with us, I'll gladly do it."

"Shut up," shouted Sasuke. "I told you, Naruto…just like I told you that day I left. The Sasuke you're searching for is gone. He's been dead ever since the day he received this curse mark. My only goal now is to kill Madara, and I'll never rest until I do so. And if you try to stop me, I'll have to kill you too Naruto."

Naruto's shoulders visibly slumped, and he sighed deeply. "Nothing I say can change your mind, huh?"

"Nothing!"

Dropping his head, and looking down where his teammates watched, Naruto said, "I'm sorry. I did my best." When he looked up again, Sasuke noted that the sparkle in his eyes were gone. "In interest of fair disclosure, I'm not the same brat I was back then, either," said Naruto. "I admit you were stronger than me last time we fought, but its different now. Sasuke, I'm bringing you down!"

"You can try," said Sasuke, before he vanished. The Uchiha appeared behind Naruto, throwing a forward punch. Ducking, Naruto let the punch sail over his head, before grabbing it, and throwing Sasuke forward. In turn, Sasuke opened his mouth as he sailed over, releasing a snake with poisoned fangs.

Reacting quickly, Naruto dropped onto his back and swiped across with his own kunai, beheading the creature in the process.

As Sasuke landed, chakra appeared on his foot and he kicked back, throwing out a piece of earth. Leaping to his feet, Naruto swung his arm out, breaking the piece of earth. A small cut appeared on his arm.

In another quick movement, Sasuke raised his arm, "Hidden Snake Hands!" A cluster of snakes shot from his sleeves, wrapping themselves tightly around Naruto. Sasuke cursed before he twisted, and the snakes bit through their target. Naruto vanished with a puff of smoke.

"Still using your shadow clones, eh, Naruto? Weak…I would have thought you'd pick up some new tricks." And jumping up, he avoided a dashing Naruto, who had two Rasengan in his hands.

Tossing a kunai, he hit Naruto in the back, destroying the second clone. As he landed, some fifty clones materialized around him. "As usual, the number amazes me," complimented Sasuke.

"Why, thank you," shouted the Narutos, before charging. Forming hand signs, the Uchiha muttered, "Chidori All Around!" Exploding from his body were bolts of lightning spread to form an electric field around the Naruto clones, shocking each of them. When each clone had vanished, Sasuke dispelled his jutsu, before leaping away, to avoid another Rasengan attempt.

"Really Naruto," said Sasuke, "the same tricks aren't going to work. If you really want to do me in, you'll have to kill me. This half-assed attempt to "bring me down" isn't working. I'm already too far along, Naruto. This will be our last battle. Either you die or I die. It's the only way it can end."

Furious, Naruto spun around to face his opponent. "Why, Sasuke? Why can't you just trust your heart for once? Even you…you must still have it somewhere…a conscious."

"Ridiculous," said Sasuke. "I have a heart…true. But, I've seen too much Naruto. I can't handle it like you can, you know." And forming a hand sign, he muttered, "Fire Style: Phoenix flower Jutsu!"

"Stupid," said Naruto, as he formed his own hand sign, "Wind Style: Divine Wind. Trapping the fireballs in a vortex, Naruto sent his mini-tornado, now appearing to be a twister of fire, back at Sasuke.

"Tch!" Leaping up, Sasuke avoided the twister entirely, though it was bad overall move.

"Bad move," pointed out Naruto. "Wind Style: Wind Blades! Sweeping his arm out, Naruto sent out currents of wind. Sasuke raised his arms in defense, letting his chakra out to nullify the attack. He was pretty successful, landing with only one major cut on his stomach. The Uchiha glared at the bleeding wound.

"Still going easy? Your pitiful attack barely grazed my skin. Didn't I tell you? I'm not coming back with you guys!"

"Ah, shut up, Sasuke," demanded Naruto.

"Once an idiot, always an idiot," said Sasuke. "I told you Naruto. It's either you kill me or I kill you. I'm going all out now, so you better shape up and come at me."

And before Naruto could throw out a reply, a chakra unlike any Naruto had ever seen exploded from Sasuke's body. To the blonde's surprise, it was not full of malicious intent he had felt when they fought at the Valley of End. This new, purple chakra seemed to be a mixture of emotions; sad and angry.

"I see," said Naruto, "you're fighting an emotional battle within yourself. Part of you knows that I'm right. The other part is what makes you cling to revenge and hatred."

Sasuke grunted, "Idiot…"

Grunting, Naruto reached for a scroll tied to his back. In confusion, Sasuke stood still, waiting to see what his former comrade would do. Opening the scroll, Naruto raised a finger, "Reverse Summoning!" A Naruto clone appeared before him and then promptly vanished.

Sasuke's eyes rose, until he noticed a change come over Naruto. The blonde's pupils' eyes dilated and promptly turned red. A yellow-green chakra exploded from his body. At the same time, two shadow clones popped up behind him.

Sasuke glared at the figure ahead of him. "What…is that?"

"It's called Sage Mode," said Naruto, "it's like my Nine Tailed Fox form, except it uses the Natural Energy around us to enhance my attack. I left a clone in a safe place to gather the natural energy for me, so I can use it in battle. I'm sorry Sasuke…but even your Cursed Seal transformation will do no good for you now."

And he vanished. Sasuke's eyes shifted to the right, his Sharigan eyes flashing. And then he was sailing through the air, spinning uncontrollably from the force of Naruto's punch. Before he landed, he felt a kick slam into him like a baseball bat knocking him into the ground. Coughing, Sasuke landed on all fours, before flipping forward, using his hands to push himself up. Landing, he turned, and, just in time, blocked a punch. He grunted from the brute force and was pushed back several feet. Ahead of him, Naruto got into an unfamiliar stance.

"Frog Katas," explained Naruto, "this Sage Mode form allows me to use it."

"Enough of this," said Sasuke, unleashing more chakra with his body. "Chidori Stream!"

Naruto leapt away as lightning blasts struck the ground where he had been standing. Swinging his arm, Sasuke sent more blasts at the blonde, eventually catching him off balance. "Got you," said Sasuke, sending out a finishing strike.

Glaring up, Naruto focused chakra into his arm, and swiped across, canceling out the attack.

With surprise, Sasuke glared at him.

Raising his palm, Naruto gathered all of his chakra in his palm, forming first the devastating Rasengan. Then mixing wind elemental chakra, he formed the green shuriken like sides. "Wind Style: RasenShuriken!"

Sasuke glared at the attack with malice.

With a shout, Naruto launched the attack forward. Closing his eyes, Sasuke placed his hands together. Summoning chakra, he opened both eyes, revealing the Mangekyo Sharingan. A dark shadow emerged from the ground, taking a skeletal form. Surrounding Sasuke, it took the full force of Naruto's RasenShuriken. The dune however, did not. With the fierce wind generated by the jutsu, a deep crater was created.

Panting, Sasuke fell to one knee, as Naruto appeared at the edge of the hole, glaring down. "So that's Susanoo?"

"You can't touch me," grunted Sasuke, who was back on his feet. The skeletal figured raised a bony hand protectively surrounding Sasuke's battle weary body.

"I see," murmured Naruto. His eyes followed Sasuke's movements as he returned to level ground. A shadowy sword emerged in the Susanoo creature's hands. With a swipe of his own arm, Sasuke sent a sword slash Naruto's way. The blonde vanished quickly, appearing closer. Raising a hand, he dashed forward, a Rasengan in his hands.

With Naruto within the range of Susanoo's reach, Sasuke grinned arrogantly. "Idiot, you'll never get past the chakra cloak." He swiped his arm, bringing Susanoo's sword towards Naruto's back. "Got ya!"

The sword went through Naruto's body and for a second Sasuke was sure he had won. And then a poof of smoke alerted him that he had struck a clone. "What the…"

The first sign of trouble came with the slight rumble underneath his foot. "Oh shit," he murmured just as Naruto popped out of the ground, a Rasengan extended from his hand. He had created a clone and ran forward hiding in its shadow. While the clone had dashed in, the real Naruto had burrowed underground, bypassing the Susanoo cloak. The high level chakra from the clone's Rasengan had prevented Sasuke from noticing it.

With the Susanoo temporarily disabled due to Sasuke's concentration disrupted, Naruto created a second RasenShuriken.

"Last time, I used the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra. This time, I'm using my own strength. There's no escaping, no pulling back this time. I'm going to finish you off. It's the least I can do for the 'real' Sasuke..." And with that, he leapt up and threw the RasenShuriken forward.

As he watched Sasuke fall into the path of his spinning technique, his eyes widened in horror as Sasuke's expression changed from surprise to that of happiness. And to Naruto's surprise, Sasuke made no attempt to block the attack, allowing the wind shuriken to strike him full. In slow motion, Naruto picked out his whispered words. "Goodbye Naruto." Thousands of microscopic wind needles punctured Sasuke's body inside of a swirling torrent of wind. The finishing explosion was great enough to send up large chunks of sand, creating a deep hole that both Naruto and Sasuke fell into.

Nearby, Team Seven was forced to leap out of the way, in fear of being caught up in the attack.

"Oh no," said Sakura, "Sasuke…." She turned to Kakashi, "Sensei, why didn't Sasuke defend himself? He just let Naruto hit him."

But Kakashi was equally stunned. As much as he had seen in his life, nothing could have prepared him for the day when Sasuke Uchiha willingly let his life be taken. Without replying, he dashed forward towards the smoking mess that lay before him.

"It'll be okay, Sakura," said Sai, trying to reassure his teammate, "Naruto is strong."

"I know," said Sakura, trying to breathe, "it's Sasuke I'm worried about it. He took that thing full on." And following Sai's lead, she went to go see the damage, only to find out her life was about to be turned upside down.

Nearby, a fourth watcher stared in amusement. "Hm… Well, that's something you don't see everyday. But, this might just work out to my advantage." And chuckling evilly, Madara Uchiha crouched forward, watching the scene unfold; already the seeds of a brilliant plan taking root.


	2. The Proposal

**Lionheart Presents**

**Resisting Destiny**

**A Proposal**

The smoke was thick as Sakura and Sai advanced through the debris from Naruto's attack. Ahead of them, Kakashi gazed downward into a massive crater at least fifteen feet deep and thirty feet in diameter.

As they arrived on the scene, Sakura could make out two forms shadowed by the rising dust. A groan from below alerted them to the survival of at least one. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Blowing softly, Kakashi blew the dust away, revealing the two men inside. The scene made the Jounin look away in pain. Kneeling beside his fallen friend, Naruto grasped the Uchiha anxiously, willing him to awake. "C'mon, Sasuke…wake up. Oh god…Sasuke…no. Please," he whispered, tears falling down his eyes, "wake up."

Leaping down below, Sakura, with her hands already glowing, proceeded to use her medical Ninjutsu. Shaking as much as Naruto was, she desperately pushed forth more chakra, calling it from every ounce of her body. The Uchiha's body was massively damaged; his shirt was literally reduced to ashes. Cuts and scrapes lined Sasuke's torso and legs. These outer problems, however, were nothing compared to the damage on the inside. Everyone knew the damage to Sasuke's organs was irreparable. The RasenShuriken attacked at the cellular level, shredding organs and veins to bits and pieces. There was no doubt Sasuke was dead or very close to it.

Urging more chakra into Sasuke's body, Sakura was awarded with a small cough.

"Sasuke!" This time Kakashi was the one to speak, as he leapt down below.

"Sasuke," repeated Naruto, who looked hopeful, as Sasuke's eyes blinked open. Coughing up blood, the Uchiha tried to laugh.

"He…hehe. Looks like I've been had. Crazy…that attack is crazy…hehehe. But this will be the last time I underestimate you, haha." He had clearly gone nearly insane, a wild look in his eyes.

"Sasuke," cried Naruto, almost shouting, "I'm so sorry. I…I…"

Relaxing, Sasuke, grinned, "Quit your crying…you big baby. I'm…using the last of my chakra just to keep my eyes open."

Sasuke smiled slightly, something very unlike him, and it was this that unsettled Team Seven. "I wanted to give you all something. Consider it my gift to you all…to repent for my sins." He raised a hand to stop Sakura, who had opened her mouth, undoubtedly to protest. "No, Sakura, don't speak. Not until I'm done here."

Silent, team seven watched as Sasuke formed a hand sign. A red and black light engulfed his fingers. Raising it towards Kakashi, he tapped the surprised Jounin on the forehead. There was a brief flash, before Kakashi staggered backwards with a groan and fell down unconscious. If Sasuke had not been injured Sakura would have helped her Sensei. In fact, she was close to it, until she heard a gargling sound behind her, before Sasuke coughed up more blood.

Whirling around, she proceeded to use more medical techniques, but again, Sasuke stopped her. "Tell Kakashi when he wakes up…that I changed his DNA to match that of an Uchiha's. That Madara is evil, but don't underestimate his knowledge. He was the one who showed me how, even though it only works if the person has had the Sharingan for over ten years," he explained before Naruto could ask. "He'll be able to use the Sharingan without tiring as quickly, and, in time, may even develop a second one."

He shifted to Naruto, "Hey, I got a little something for you…"

Naruto gulped. "T-there's no need, Sasuke, I…"

But Sasuke ignored him. Instead, this time, he pointed to his own eyes. "My eyes Sakura…give them…to Naruto. And hurry…my chakra is running out and…I can feel my heart…what's left of it… fading. Do it now."

And before Sakura could protest, the Uchiha raised his hands to his face and ripped out his eyes. The Kunoichi screamed, before falling back in horror. In front of her, Sasuke extended his Sharingan eyes to Naruto.

For a moment, Sakura and Naruto stared at the blood running freely from Sasuke's eye. Not to mention the blood from wounds on his body and from his mouth. "DO IT SAKURA!" It was impressive that Sasuke could even shout in his state.

Sakura jumped, but she nodded. "Alright, Sasuke. Turning to Naruto, she sighed. "Sorry, Honey…but…" And before Naruto could react, Sakura punched him in the stomach, knocking him out. Opening his closed eyelids, she pulled out his bright blue eyes. In its place she put in Sasuke's own eyes, using her medical Ninjutsu to seal it in place, connecting it to the brain. Smiling slightly, she closed Naruto's new eyes. As she turned around, her heart almost stopped. It certainly skipped a few beats.

Right beneath her eyes, her childhood crush lay unmoving. His empty sockets gazed upwards towards the heavens, while his mouth curled into a smile. Raising her hands to her mouth, Sakura let her tears freely flow, before dropping over his lifeless body.

On top of the crater, Sai watched sadly. His normally smiling face was pale and frustrated as he clenched his hands and teeth. Angry at Madara for causing the situation in the first place. Angry at himself for failing his goal to help Naruto and Sakura retrieve their teammate.

"Quite some drama going on down there, eh?"

Sai's eyes shot open. Behind him, he felt the tip of a kunai knife pressed against his back. The voice he knew well. It was the voice of Madara Uchiha.

"Y-you…"

"Yes," said Madara, "me." For a moment, Sai waited in fear, waiting for the inevitable death blow. His mind berated him for dropping his guard. Well, that is until suddenly and inexplicably, Madara chuckled and withdrew his kunai. Suspicious, Sai watched Madara sit down on the ground, crossing his legs and whistling.

"Don't worry, kid," said Madara, "I'm not here to fight you all. Rather…I have an interesting idea that you might like. Huh? What's with the face? Not thinking about killing me, are you? Go ahead and try, but… it's not like someone like 'you' can kill me, eh?"

And to Sai's horror, he felt a sudden killer intent that froze his body, as images of his dead body flashed through his mind. "Thought not," said Madara coldly. "Sit down. We may as well let…"

He was interrupted as a crack in the ground appeared underneath him, before a spike shot up from the ground, spearing him from bottom up. Sakura leapt up, her eyes blazing as she punched with all her might…and right through Madara.

"Too slow, girl," said Madara, who's transparent body took corporeal form again, as Sakura skidded along the ground to stop herself.

"MADARA," growled Sakura, "I'm gonna kill you!"

Madara sighed, "You people are so incapable of good conversation, aren't you? Sit down, silly girl." And to Sakura's dismay, her body rejected her own thoughts and slammed to the ground, paralyzed by Madara's quick Genjutsu.

"Relax," waved Madara, "I won't kill you all… yet. There'd be really no point to that, if you get my drift."

"What do you mean," asked Sai?

"All in good time," said Madara, with a hint of a smile. "In the meantime, we'll wait for the Nine Tails brat and the copy ninja to awake."

"Don't," started Sakura, struggling against her invisible bonds, "don't call Naruto that."

Madara eyed her closely for a second. "Hmph! Very well; if it means so much to you. He, at least has earned my respect. Naruto Uzumaki…we wait until he awakes then.

**Ten Minutes Later**

The struggle had been brief. Kakashi, the first one to awaken had struck at Madara desperately, only to find himself tied tightly to a tree that emerged from the ground. Naruto, even worse, seemed to have lost all sense, stumbling around drunk-like.

Madara explained it as a side effect of having the Sharingan transplanted his eyes. The last Uchiha dashed over, and poked Naruto in the forehead. The blonde's eyes focused, and his first words were, "MADARA! YOU…I'M GONNA KICK YOUR…"

He didn't get to finish as Madara appeared behind him and kicked him in the behind. "Ass, right," taunted the Uchiha. "No you don't," said Madara, as Sai came in with his sword. Waving his arm, and initiating a wind technique, he tossed Sai some yards away onto his head.

Naruto landed with a groan, though he quickly popped back up. He didn't get into a fighting stance and instead glared at Madara, who seemed surprised.

"Huh? What's that face for," asked Madara?

"What do you want from us?"

Madara raised an eye, "What makes you think I need anything from you?"

Naruto grunted, before throwing a kunai to free Kakashi. Sakura, having finally dispelled the Genjutsu was also back on her feet. "I don't know," said Kakashi, sarcastically, "maybe it's the fact that you kept us alive, when you had us at your mercy. Besides, you already told Sakura and Sai here that you had some interesting to say to us. Care to elaborate?"

Madara shrugged, "Alright, you win. I do have…something interesting. Think of it like this. You do something for me, and I'll do something for you. Fair, no?"

"Depends," growled Sakura, "and besides, how can we trust you?"

Madara grunted, "You see, girl, unlike my Uchiha counterparts, I, at least, do not go against my word. Once I give it, I stick to it. And besides, to further get your trust, I'll do something for you 'first,' and then you do something for me."

Team Seven pondered this for a moment. Sai voiced their thoughts, "And how do you know we'd do something for you afterwards?"

Madara grinned, "Well, trust me. Once I've completed my share, you'll have little choice but to do yours. You'll see what I mean once we get to that time. So, will you listen to my proposal?"

"Fine," said Kakashi, "nothing else we can do," he muttered to himself.

Waving his hand, Madara changed the surrounding landscape into a luxurious room, full of drinks and seats. Sitting down on an oyster chair, he waved them to similar seats in front. When they were all seated, Madara began.

"Please don't interrupt me," said Madara, "since I hate to repeat myself. You can ask questions at the end. Now, before I get into the actual proposal, let me explain my thoughts behind it. The way I see it, all five of us are in the same boat. Home villages destroyed, ambitions gone, dreams shattered, allies lost."

"And who's fault is that," shouted Naruto, shooting up. He was quickly dragged down by Sakura, who glared at him.

"I was pretty sure I said not to interrupt," said Madara. Naruto pointedly looked away. "Anyway," continued Madara, "that is how I see our situation."

"What are you trying to say," asked Kakashi?

"My point? You guys…I imagine are saddened by the loss of your village and comrades. And by the way, now you know how I felt when I learned the Uchiha Clan was to be massacred. Why do you think I recruited Itachi…? I felt bad for the kid."

Taking a sip from a glass, Madara continued. "For me, my only option left is to kill you guys. Unfortunately, if I did that, then I would have nothing else to do. You guys…can't do anything until you kill me. Unfortunately, your skill levels are not quite there yet."

After a brief pause, Madara looked at Naruto, "Although Naruto, I admit you're closer than anyone has ever been since the Fourth Hokage. And with those Sharingan eyes and your recently learned Sage Mode, I wouldn't be surprised if you gave me a run for my money."

Madara thoughtfully tapped his chin, "Meh, you still lack experience. You'll need a few years before you can properly challenge me," he said cheerfully.

"If you're so unhappy," said Kakashi, "then why did you release the tailed beasts upon us in the first place? You must have known the destruction it would have caused.

Madara shrugged, "I was mad. You guys killed my men, and with no way to extract the last two beasts, so I went mad and decided to attack all you. Didn't think you guys had it in you, and I'm thoroughly impressed all seven of them were defeated. You have my congratulations. Anyway, now I'm bored again, and I still want all nine. So you all will help me get it, right?"

Silence greeted him. Then, Naruto broke it with a middle finger.

"You're kidding me," said Naruto. "You're unhappy with one…you need to have all nine. Okay, that I can deal with, but now you want us to help you recreate them? What the heck could you possibly have been planning? I can't speak for my team, but I sure as hell would die before I helped you."

As one, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi gave Madara a piercing glare.

The Uchiha shrugged, "Hey, I was just saying that my personal dream was shattered. Didn't you have a dream once Naruto? Something about being Hokage. You know, if you help me, maybe I can help with that?"

Naruto scowled. "Um, help you gain all nine beasts so you can rule the world? No thanks, but I'd rather stay Genin the rest of my life."

"I'm glad we stopped your ambitions," agreed Sakura, "you selfish jerk!"

Madara sighed, "Here we go with the verbal insults. Typical…"

"Hey," interrupted Kakashi, "you keep badgering about us "helping" you, but you haven't told us what's in it for us."

"Ah yes, my proposal," said Madara quickly, who seemed glad to have been bailed out of an argument. "…is this. With the abilities I've developed with my Sharingan, and with the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the five of us will return to the past, I will create the portal, but Naruto will have to use his chakra to sustain it. That is what I meant when I said you help me and I help you. Unfortunately, this Time Jutsu requires tremendous chakra reserves and very secret Black Ninjutsu, which I happen to have. How does that sound to you guys?"

There was silence at first. Naruto had a blank look. Sai was Sai as usual. Kakashi…you couldn't tell anything with his mask on, although his face seemed clouded with wonder. And Sakura's mouth was wide open, skeptical to the whole thing. And then…

"HAHAHAHA! Good joke Madara," said Naruto, laughing in a fake manner. "Not really," he amended, growing serious, "you're lying. There's no Time Jutsu! What jutsu do you really intend to pull on us?"

"I agree," said Sakura, "this sounds too fishy to be anything true. Sai, have you heard anything about this time travel jutsu?"

"Yes," answered Sai.

"Exact…" Sakura froze in mid-word, before her head shot towards Sai. "WHAT?! You actually know about it?"

Sai nodded again, "As he says, it falls under the category of a secret art called Black Ninjutsu. Danzo spoke of it once, and he says the knowledge of performing Black Ninjutsu has been lost since before the start of the Ninja Wars. This Time Jutsu was said to be the greatest of the Black Ninjutsu arts. It required insane quantities of chakra. I didn't think anybody in the world could use it."

"Impressive," said Madara, who seemed very surprised at Sai's knowledge. "It seems Leaf's Root Division is knowledgeable. Just what I'd expect from that scum Danzo. What he says is true," said Madara, turning to Naruto and Sakura. "Black Ninjutsu was a secret art used by black mages way back when. Black Ninjutsu is what created all bloodline techniques. Lucky nobles, who desired power, described the abilities they wished to possess and were granted with the ability. On a side note, the Rin'nengan of Peins was one of the last abilities of the black mages. We never saw the true power of it. Pein developed it enough to use it effectively, but its hidden powers remained locked up, much like the Mangekyo remains locked for many Uchiha."

"So," said Kakashi, "you found out about this Black Ninjutsu…through some records I imagine?"

Madara nodded, affirming this, "However, wherever I looked, it was impossible for me to actually find out how to do the Black Ninjutsu. It took me many, many years, but because of my Sharingan and my own prodigious knowledge and ability, I was able to recreate some of this Black Ninjutsu for myself. Hence, the reason I can seemingly turn to a ghostly form at will and then back. Aside from that, a scroll I discovered some time ago alerted me to the presence of this Time Jutsu. Clever as I am, I was able to…ugh…make a variation of it. Of course, the variation lasted for less than a second. Hardly enough time to actually adjust it to a certain time period. That's why I need you, Naruto. You have the chakra capacity to keep the portal long enough for me to arrange what time we drop in."

"I don't get it," said Naruto, "why didn't you just kill me and take the Nine-Tailed Fox from me, then?"

Madara sighed, "With brains like that, I'm surprised you're still around, Naruto." He paused again as he talked to himself. "My, how the world has a funny way of playing tricks with you. My mortal enemies are an idiot, a girl, a pervert, and an emo artist."

This drew some glares, but Madara turned his attention to Naruto, "Now, what happens if I kill you?"

Naruto mouth opened. It closed. "Oh," he said, lamely, "well, why didn't you extract it from me like all the others then?"

Madara scowled slightly, "As embarrassing as it is, I don't have the ability myself to summon that statue, which would have extracted the nine tails from your body. And that's why right now; I need you to activate this jutsu for me."

Team Seven looked at each other. "So, supposing we go to the past," said Kakashi, "Then what? What would we do?"

Madara rolled his eyes, "God, you guys have no imagination, do you? Save your friends, train your younger selves since you will emerge in that time as you are now. Develop your new Sharingan abilities. See your friends. And then one day, Naruto and I will meet in mortal combat…as equals. One of us will die, and the one who dies will forever lose their dreams and ambitions."

"I see what you're saying," said Naruto. "Alright, that sounds fun. I'm in."

"Whoa," said Sakura, "don't jump the gun, idiot. I still have some questions. So, Madara, what about you? You seem to know what we would do, but what would you do?"

Madara sighed, "First, I would kill my past self. There can only be one Madara at a time. Then, I would proceed immediately in organizing Akatsuki."

"Whoa," said Sakura, "how would you kill yourself?"

Madara smiled, "I'll give you a clue. Only a Sharingan wielder can kill me. Even then, that person must be incredibly strong." Here, he winked at Naruto. "Anything else?"

"How far back are we going," asked Kakashi.

Madara shrugged, "Can't give you an exact date there. All we can do is approximate it. I'd say we go back sometime before the Uchiha Massacre. Though it could be well after that, or it could even be as far back as the Fourth Hokage days. Hopefully, not that far. He shuddered. "Now, enough with the questions! Do we have a deal?"

"Give us your world that you won't pull anything fast. Swear it…on the honor of your clan," demanded Kakashi.

Madara paused. "Alright then…I, as a member of the esteemed Uchiha Clan, swear to abide by the terms and conditions I just set. Is that good enough for you?"

"Fine," said Naruto.

"I'm game too," said Sai, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Interesting," said Kakashi, "interesting that you would come up with an elaborate plan such as this. Very well. I'm interested in seeing how this will play out. I'm in."

"Okay," said Sakura reluctantly.

Madara nodded, "Good. And now…without further delay. Black Ninjutsu! Time Portal! Once it opens Naruto, you must keep it open until I can make the necessary adjustments to the time."

A black aura surrounded Madara's hands, before he thrust them out, sending a black blue blast into the ground. Team Seven had to hold their ground, as the ground began to shake violently. Slowly, from the pool of chakra that Madara blasted out, chakra began to rise up, taking a circular shape. Groaning, Madara pushed out more of the Black chakra into the ground, until the circle was nearly as tall as himself. "Now Naruto!"

Raising his palm, Naruto concentrated, letting the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra flow into the portal, which began to spiral. The flashing lights were almost nauseating and Naruto swore he was going to have a seizure. Nevertheless, he continued to send forth the red chakra. In the meantime, Madara had closed his eyes and was standing motionless. Occasionally he would change hand signs and mutter something incoherent.

After about five minutes, he opened his eyes. The portal, which had begun to spin violently along with Madara's words, suddenly stilled and became calm. "Alright…it's safe to enter now. Naruto, keep it up for a moment, while your team enters. I'll go in last to ensure that there's no funny business."

Without hesitation, Sai and Kakashi stepped into the circular figure of chakra, vanishing mysteriously. Sakura let out a squeal, but followed quickly.

Naruto stopped his flow of chakra, before jumping in. Before the portal quite vanished, Madara slipped in after him. As he left, the luxurious room vanished, revealing the empty desert. Only Sasuke's lifeless body as well as his now awakening allies remained to mark the event that had occurred this day. The day Madara Uchiha and Team Seven had struck a bargain to go back in time.


	3. Manifest Destiny

**Manifest Destiny**

A soft and gentle wind blew against Sarutobi, giving him a sense of relaxation. And relaxation was definitely foremost on his mind at the moment. Sucking gently on his pipe, he let the drug run through his system. Feeling elated, he turned back to a certain spot on his floor. The last hours events quickly rushed back to him. After all, it wasn't any day that four strangers suddenly appear out of the sky and land on your floor. It wasn't something easily forgotten either.

"Still thinking about those strangers, Sensei?"

Entering the room, Minato Namikaze plopped himself down on the sofa.

"Yes," said Sarutobi, "I can't get over the familiarity of those faces."

"Yeah," agreed Minato. "Talk about Deja Vu." Looking up, he recalled the strangers that had interrupted his work. Two were very unrecognizable, though the female was very attractive. They weren't the problem however. It was the other two that Sarutobi and Minato were most concerned about. The first had, unbelievably, looked exactly like Minato, save for whisker marks on the cheek. Even more unbelievably, the second looked exactly like Hatake Kakashi, one of the village's strongest ANBU member.

Aside from the familiarities, all four strangers had Leaf headbands. Were they spies? The idea had been dismissed as unlikely. If they had been spies, Minato reasoned, they probably wouldn't have come in with a four man team. But then, if not spies, who where they? This question continued to drive Sarutobi's thoughts continued back towards the apparent doubles. Was it possibly a joke pulled by Kakashi? But if that was the case, then the coma the four were in was superbly well done. It also meant that he didn't know all his Shinobi as well as he should, since he was sure he never met the pink-haired woman or the other man in his life. His keen eyes had already confirmed that none of the bodies were clones of any type. That meant each body was the real and original one.

A knocking on the door drew Minato and Sarutobi out of their thoughts. "Come in," said Minato.

The door swiftly opened, and one of medical staff rushed in. "Lord Hokage, I've concluded my tests. It's as you surmised; the masked man has the same DNA as Hatake Kakashi, although strangely enough, there is some Uchiha DNA mixed in."

'_Definitely Kakashi, eh,'_ thought Minato. "What about the second man? The one who looked like me."

Shido nodded, "We concluded that the blonde man is not you. But…based on our test, we believe he is related…possibly a sibling or cousin. In fact, it could even be a son." The medic shrugged.

Sarutobi sighed as he sank into his luxurious chair, while Minato rubbed his hair, mulling over the developments. One mystery was leading to another. Minato was sure he didn't have any remaining family members. And the new Kakashi was entirely bewildering. The new Kakashi had, without a doubt, appeared much older than the Kakashi he knew, and the mixture of Uchiha DNA was somewhat of a puzzle.

Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully. "What about their present status? Are they awake?"

"Well about that Sir," said the Medic Ninja. "They have no internal or external injuries. I don't want to say they're in a coma; it's more like they're just sleeping."

The Third looked up, and his eyes narrowed. "Anything on their background? History? We need some answers, Shido."

The Medic Ninja gulped, "So far nothing Sir. I've searched all of their possessions. Aside from standard Shinobi tools, they have nothing on them. The scrolls that were on their body are bound by some seal. I can't open them. If I had to guess, only they have access to those at the moment."

Sarutobi groaned again. Again, they had nothing. "Alright, return to your post. Keep them in a secure room and keep your eyes on them."

"Yes Sir!"

"One more thing," added Minato. "Until we learn more, your results and everything concerning them will be classified. You understand? You, Sarutobi Sensei, and I are the only ones to know about these strangers."

"Yes Sir!"

As the Medic Ninja stormed out, Sarutobi cursed and kicked the empty trash basket next to him. And then, in frustration, he knocked over a pile of papers onto the floor. Only to find out they were the numerous unsigned papers Minato had neglected. "Thanks a lot, Sensei..."

**Hours Later**

A groan alerted Shido to movement from the beds. Shooting up, his face paled. "Oh shit, they're waking up."

And, dashing to the door, he threw it open. He grabbed the closest person he could. "You nurse…go to the Hokage. Tell him…that I need to see him immediately."

The nurse struggled in vain, "Let go of me."

"You must tell him," demanded Shido.

The woman growled, "Alright, just let me go." Shido blinked, before releasing the woman, who gave him the coldest glare he had ever received. Shido groaned. There went another woman he would never be able to date. Walking back into the room, he was surprised to find all four occupants up.

The blonde was being held down by the pink haired girl and the masked man. He seemed to be yelling something 'Mad Air,' or something. The black haired man with a sword on his back was checking himself out in a mirror.

"Um, excuse me…you guys…should…" Shido froze. Four pairs of calculating eyes settled upon him, sending shivers up his spine. "H-Hi?" And then, chuckling madly, Shido fell down in a dead faint.

"Who's this," asked Naruto, poking at Shido's body.

"I do believe his name is Shido," said Kakashi, patting his body. Then, "Darn, I forgot to bring a copy of Icha Icha Tactics! But, looks like we made it back…in one piece."

A blue-green book landed in his hands. "There," said Naruto, who had tossed it. "I borrowed it from you that day before we found that bastard Sasuke. Anyway," he growled, "where's that Madara?"

Kakashi, however, too overjoyed, had already turned a deaf ear. Instead, Sai answered, "He probably avoided capture once we landed in this time." He paused as he looked around the room. "Judging from our current situation, I'd say the Hokage has already been alerted to our presence."

"We're in the central district," said Sakura. "This medical establishment is right behind the Hokage Tower. If he knows we're here, I'd venture to say he will be here soon. Hm…I think we need some sunlight."

Walking over to the window, she threw aside the curtain, filling the room with the bright sunshine. The window was already open, letting in a cool breeze. Outside, the hustle and bustle of activity was almost like music to Sakura's ears. Shoppers jumped from store to store, while vendors called out to potential customers. It certainly wasn't anything like the type of noises she had heard recently. For a moment she felt odd, like she was dreaming almost. "This feels like a dream. I can't…I can't believe we're really here."

"Some dream," said Naruto, as he joined her. Casually, he reached behind her and pinched her butt. "Oh wait, not a dream."

The antic earned him a playful slap, but Sakura seemed to be in too good a mood to hit him. "Stupid Naruto," laughed Sakura.

"So," said Naruto, turning back towards Kakashi and Sai, "according to Madara, we should have landed sometime around the Uchiha massacre. Do you think it's already passed? Should we stop it?"

"Hey, relax." Three heads swiveled to where Kakashi was flipping through pages. Out of them all, he seemed to be the most relaxed. "We won't make any decisions until we know exactly what time period we are in. I tend to think Sakura is correct in her saying the Hokage will soon pay us a little visit. We'll analyze the current situation and then move on from there."

"I guess," said Naruto.

After a brief pause, "Wow! I really am feeling the nostalgia," said Naruto, as he gazed happily out the window. Sakura sighed. Trust Naruto to always blurt something random.

For the next few moments, Team Seven sat in silence, pondering their situation. They were certain someone would be sent to them soon, and the thought of Leaf back on its feet was something of a shock.

Soon, however, footsteps outside could be heard. With anxiety, the four waited to see who had been sent to question them. None of them were prepared to see the Fourth Hokage walk in, along with Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.

For a moment, there was a silence as both groups stared at each other. Both Naruto and Kakashi had gone pale; the latter actually dropping his disinterested façade (as well as his treasured book). And then, Naruto, rudely pointing at Minato, blurted. "D-d-ugh…!" Before he could blurt anything else, Sai had quickly smacked his hand over Naruto's mouth.

The blonde quickly realized he had just about blurted out, "Dad," and turned red.

Minato looked oddly at Naruto for a moment, before he cleared his throat. "Well…" He stopped there, unsure how to begin.

Quickly, Sarutobi took the initiative. "I'm…glad to see you're up and standing. As I'm sure you know, you are currently inside of Leaf Village."

No response. The Third frowned slightly, as now everyone's attention was on him. Even worse, the four strangers were staring at him as if they had seen a ghost. Little did he know, that was exactly what they were thinking.

"I was hoping that we could have a little chat in my successor's office," continued the Third, when no one spoke. "I'll have you know that if you decline, we'll have little choice but to detain you until you reveal to me your identities and purpose in this village."

Minato nodded, though he seemed more interested in Naruto.

The man that looked like Kakashi quickly put on a blank expression, while taking charge. "Of course," he said. And then, "C'mon, let's go."

As Naruto followed his team out, he took one look back into the medical room. Then he looked at Shido's body. Then he turned to the Third. And then one final time to his father. 'I'm dreaming…'

-Pinch-

"Nope, not a dream."

**Hokage's Office**

"Allow me to get straight to the point. Who are you and what are you doing here," asked Minato.

The question was open to anyone, but there was silence. While they waited, he and Sarutobi observed their guests closely. From first appearances, the Kakashi look alike seemed to be the one in charge. Sarutobi noticed how he seemed to direct the other three with gestures and nods. By guess alone, he would say these four were more towards upper ranking Shinobi, such as Jounin. For one, they were adults. Second, they seemed way too mature to be Genin, staring at him silently and calculating. Personality wise, the blonde seemed to be the least patient; unable to stand still, and occasionally making grunting sounds. The pink haired woman and the black haired male were much calmer compared to their rowdy teammate and nothing in their actions could help Sarutobi guess at their personality.

But the strangest thing of all was the blonde's eye. As Minato was quick to notice, Naruto possessed two Sharingan, though they were different from any Sharingan they had ever seen.

It was Kakashi who spoke first. "My name…is Hatake Kakashi." The Third shared a glance with Minato. Their guess had been correct, which made the whole situation that much worse. It was a phenomenon; the reality of the man standing before him just made entirely no sense at all.

"Sakura Haruno," said the woman. The Third frowned. He had never heard of this woman in the village. Surely he would have heard of someone as beautiful as her.

"Please call me Sai," said the black haired male. Another mystery Shinobi.

"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Minato blinked in confusion. One, because he had just used his wife's surname. And two, because no person outside the Uchiha blood, with the exception of Kakashi, possessed the Sharingan eyes.

Unsure of how to respond, Sarutobi said, "Well, that's interesting. Would you happen to know that…"

"That there is a younger version of me in this world," interrupted Kakashi. "That Naruto has Sharingan eyes? Yes, we know. The explanation for our appearance…time travel."

Minato's mouth actually dropped at this. In fact, even Naruto, Sakura, and Sai stared at him with some surprise. Meanwhile the Third frowned very deeply. "E-excuse me?"

"Time travel, old man," said Naruto loudly, interrupting Kakashi, "don't tell me your ears don't work. I know your old, but…"

"Naruto!" Sakura quickly tapped him on the arm.

The Third's face scrunched up, while Minato silently chuckled. It wasn't every day the Third Hokage was called old, despite the truth of it. "Y-you brat," muttered the Third, while Naruto grinned.

"Time travel, huh…that…sure is strange," said Minato, steering thoughts away from his predecessor. As far as he knew, time travel was nonexistent, and these strangers were lying. As far as he knew anyway. And he knew a lot.

Biding time, Sarutobi prompted them to explain more. "Time travel. Time travel…you do know that's a pretty farfetched story? How are we supposed to believe what you're saying is true or not?

"You know," said Sai, "they say that unless the brain cannot come up with a believable explanation for a phenomenon, the phenomenon will remain just that. In other words, unless we provide absolute proof that we were telling the truth; something your brains could not explain, you would never believe us. I can see it in your eyes that you believe we are spies."

"True," admitted Sarutobi. "I do admit that your "story" is rather unbelievable and I'm inclined to send you off to my ANBU investigation and torture department. Still, tell us something then and we'll see.

"How about," began Kakashi, "something that nobody in the village could know. Something that the Fourth Hokage has been keeping very secret up until now? Perhaps, something like the birth of son? Perhaps that son's name will be Naruto Uzumaki." As he said this, he nodded his head toward Naruto, who began posing.

The Third's head shot over to Minato, who had jumped up. For a moment, all thought of deception was gone. "What?! Kushina's pregnant, Minato? Why didn't you tell me?"

Minato looked at Sarutobi once in horror, then at Kakashi, before jumping. "H-how did you know that? We didn't tell anybody."

"Maybe," said Naruto, jerking a thumb towards his chest, "Because I am Naruto Uzumaki. And maybe…because we ARE time travelers." And this time, neither Minato nor Sarutobi looked like they disbelieved it.

"Alright, I admit you're…tale… is promising. Tell me," said Sarutobi, "I want to know. What are you doing here? What prompted you to use this…Time Jutsu? Your time isn't good enough for you or something?"

The four members of Team Seven stared at one another. It was clear someone was going to have to explain their situation. Folding his arms, Naruto stepped back, "No way, I'm out. I'm not good at this kind of thing."

"Oh, I'll explain," said Sakura. "You see, Lord Hokage," she began politely, "in the future…" And for the next ten minutes, Sakura listed off the major events that led to the Shinobi Villages' downfall, as well as the proposal by Madara. Sarutobi and Minatos' faces were blank after the story.

"So…," Minato began, "you struck a bargain with Madara Uchiha. I thought that guy was dead."

"Although there were no records of his death, it's been assumed that he passed away from old age," said Sarutobi."

"Well, that's wrong," said Naruto. He folded his arms, "Madara is very much alive and he isn't happy. Luckily enough for us, the future Madara doesn't like the idea of two Madara's running around, so he's going to kill the one from this time period."

Burying his face in his hands, Minato took a deep breath. "So, in the future, Leaf falls to the hands of some lunatic who was trying to set his justice upon the world. How terrible!"

He paused before he pointed a finger, "That's supposing I believe your story to be true! Don't get me wrong; I'm inclined to believe you, especially since the DNA tests came up the way they did. However, as Hokage, I must carefully observe anything suspicious and out of the ordinary. So, tell me, what exactly do you want me to do with you all? And…what exactly do you plan to achieve now?"

Kakashi paused before, "We're still trying to work out details ourselves. Actually, I'm not even sure what the date it is. Not much we can do if we don't know what's going on? How about we save the details until you can think this over? And also, if I may suggest…how about activating us as Shinobi of the village? We can use our knowledge of the future to make necessary changes in the past. Of course we'll alert you to any changes that we make."

"That's a pretty bold request," interrupted Sarutobi. "Your story has some merit, but I wouldn't go so far to blindly trust you four just yet."

Minato sighed, "Hold on just a minute, Sensei. Like I said; the DNA tests came up positive. So far, everything these guys have been saying has some merit. Besides this is Kakashi we're talking about. I think I trust him. And…" He hesitated. "They don't strike me as the shady type."

"They never do," muttered Sarutobi. "Listen Minato, if they were spies…and good ones, they would make sure their story was solid in case of capture."

"What about knowing about Kushina's pregnancy? Even you didn't know…and you know everything. Besides, they weren't even captured. They "appeared" in our room."

Sarutobi blushed at the compliment. He quickly switched back to seriousness. "In the world of Shinobi, gathering information is a talent. How do you know they just didn't eavesdrop one day? As for falling in our room, it could have been an accident."

Sai shrugged, before leaning towards Naruto. "Like I said," he whispered, "the imaginative aspect of the brain is so fascinating. Just look at him coming up with excuses."

"I think I would have realized if I had unwanted guests," argued Minato. "Look Sensei, just give them a chance."

"But…"

Minato waved his Sensei off, "I'll take responsibility for them, Sensei." And he turned away, before the Third could retort back, leaving him fuming, puffing furiously on his pipe.

Meanwhile, Team Seven had been listening to the exchange between the two. "Go Fourth," said Naruto, with a grin. _'You tell him, Dad.'_

Minato turned to Kakashi, who seemed grateful. "So, listen, Kakashi. I need some time to think this over. I think I've learned enough already to last me a lifetime. I'll arrange for accommodations for you all. There is one thing you haven't told us yet, however."

"What's that," asked Kakashi.

"Why," said Minato, pointing, "do you have Uchiha DNA? And why…does an Uzumaki, assuming he is one…have Sharingan eyes."

Kakashi blinked, while Naruto brought his hands to his forehead. "Oh, I forgot I had these. Shoot…I can't deactivate them. How bothersome."

"They were given as gifts," explained Sakura quickly, "by a friend. It just happens, that friend was an Uchiha. A very close friend." She broke off and quickly turned away. Nearby, Naruto sighed, as his eyes darkened.

"Err," said Minato, sensing the tension. "So…" He too broke off; not wanting to stir up bad memories. Instead, he quickly changed the subject. "Okay, so Naruto received a set of Sharingan eyes, much like Kakashi did from Obito, and now Kakashi has Uchiha DNA. Got it! Shame you can't deactivate it, but whatever. Anyway, now we come to this. There is already a Kakashi in this time. And soon, there will be doubles of the rest of you. What do we do about that?"

"Easy," said Kakashi, "back in our time, we discovered a few of our enemies' scrolls. One of them contained a shape shifting jutsu. With little chakra use, I can take the form of another person I have seen. I'll use it when I'm in public, though I rather like my appearance, so in private, I'll change back. For Sakura, we'll simply adjust her hair color to a lighter pink to separate her from the Haruno clan. Sai; well, there's no problem there. By the time this time's Sai grows up, our Sai here will be too old to compare. Same goes for Naruto here. Meanwhile, his shorter hair and the whisker marks on his cheeks should be enough to differentiate him from you."

Minato nodded thoughtfully, "Hm, I guess that is acceptable," he said, as he walked around Naruto. The latter stiffened, unsure how to react around his father.

"Well, you certainly took after me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were my brother, hehe." And then he smiled, "Wow, what am I going to tell your mom? Oh boy!"

Naruto started. He had been severely caught off guard by the sight of his father. The thought of seeing his mother was beyond his pea-sized brain's comprehension. "W-what?"

"Your mother," repeated Minato, "I am soooo going to introduce you." Naruto looked at his friends for help, but they had turned a blind eye.

Luckily for Naruto, Kakashi's mention of the shape shifting jutsu had piqued Sarutobi's interest. "Kakashi, how about we see this jutsu then?"

Kakashi raised his hands into the snake hand sign. Flashing through a series of signs, he muttered, "Change!" For a moment nothing happened. The next however, Kakashi's face began to twitch. Then, to the Hokage's horror, the skin began to twist itself in different shapes and directions, until it finally settled back down into an unfamiliar new look.

"Hello," said Kakashi, in a deeper voice. "This body was one of those that I met from Cloud Village in the future. I only met him on a recon mission there, so, if I were to not go on that mission, he would never meet me. Plus, he dies three days after I meet him anyway, so no trouble from him at all." Kakashi grinned, revealing a sexy new smile, "Besides, he looks pretty cool."

Sakura turned away in disgust, while the men stared at him with admiration.

Sarutobi mouth opened and closed for a minute. "I-incredible. That is some jutsu. If you had walked in like that, I would have never known it was a deception."

Kakashi shrugged, before pointing to Sakura's hair. A flash later, her hair had become visibly lighter. "That's much better. No one will compare her to the Haruno Clan now, not with their fiery pink hair."

"Um," said Sakura, feeling her new hair, which was the same really, except for the color. "Naruto…Sai, what do you think? Do you like it?"

"Looks…ugh…different," said Naruto, pointedly.

Sai nodded to himself, as if seriously analyzing it. "Looks terrible."

**A Moment Later**

"My apologies, Lord Hokage," said Sakura, bowing. She had an innocent and angelic smile; one Minato associated with the devil himself.

Gulping, the Fourth nodded, "Its okay, Mrs. Haruno."

'_That is one…dangerous woman,' _thought Sarutobi.

Glancing behind the Kunoichi, he looked at the slumped forms of Naruto and Sai; both of whom were groaning and clutching their stomachs. "Note to self," said Sai, slowly standing, "never tell a woman her hair looks bad."

"Anyway… we'll take a break from all of this, and go explore the village," said Kakashi, who seemed unperturbed by the antics of his companions. "Is that okay with you?"

Minato stared blankly at them.

"What's wrong," asked Naruto, who was the subject of Minato's gaze. The Fourth opened and closed his mouth, before pointing. It wasn't long before Sarutobi had noticed something too.

"Oh my… that can't be."

Naruto shared a confused look with his friends, before, to his surprise, they suddenly gasped.

"What the heck is wrong with you guys," demanded Naruto.

"Your eyes," said Sakura, "they're…they're back to normal."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, "What?" He quickly rushed to the room's mirror. A moment later, he rose happily. "Sweet…I always liked my blue eyes."

"W…How did you do that," asked Minato?

Naruto shrugged, "Must be the nine-tailed fox's chakra. I can feel it running through me like a current. It must have adapted my body to accommodate the Sharingan. Seems like I can turn them on and off now." And like a kid who had just been giving a new toy, Naruto experimented with his new eyes, switching between normal and Sharingan.

The others however, had immediately frozen at Naruto's mention of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi all smacked their foreheads. '_Naruto, you idiot!'_

"WHAT?!

Minato's yell was like a roar through the building and several ANBU knocked on the door. "Sir? Is everything okay?"

"Fine," said Minato, quickly, "fine. Please, return to your posts." There was a pause, before the guard replied. "Sir…"

"Okay," said Minato, "what the hell is going on? What's this about the Nine-Tails?"

Kakashi sighed, "Ah, I was hoping we could put this off for another time. Anyway, I'm sure you know what the Nine Tailed fox is." Both Minato and Sarutobi nodded, grim looks upon their face. "Well," continued Kakashi, "according to this calendar, the Nine-tails fox will attack Leaf Village in just a few days. Anyway, in the future, the arrival of the nine tailed fox caused quite a stir within the village. Its attack threatened even the village itself. Wait…don't interrupt," he said, cutting off both Minato and Sarutobi; both of whom had jumped up. Hesitantly, they nodded for him to continue.

Gulping, Kakashi continued. "As a last ditch effort, you," he said pointing to Minato, "you will sacrifice yourself to seal the Fox into your newly born son's body. Into…Naruto's body."

The Fourth mouth dropped and he slowly dropped into his seat. Kakashi looked away; the memories of his Sensei's death resurfacing to the top of his mind. Meanwhile, Naruto, Sai, Sakura, and Sarutobi looked around helplessly.

"I…sealed that beast into my own son's body. God, what kind of parent am I? I'm sorry Naruto…for whatever hell I put you through…so…so sorry."

Naruto blinked away a tear coming to his eye, "Apology accepted. And…don't worry about it. There was no other option for you to take."

A sudden thought struck Minato, and he stood. "What about Kushina? What happens to her?"

Kakashi sighed, "She was…killed in action, by the nine tails." _'She was trying to protect you.' _Of course Kakashi kept this thought himself. The Fourth collapsed into a chair, his head spinning. "No…no… that can't be…"

"Minato," said the third, "Minato, pull yourself together. Minato!"

"W-what do I do," asked Minato, "my wife is about to be killed, and I'm about to condemn my son to a life as the jailor of a monster."

"You'll let us handle it," said Naruto, quietly.

All eyes settled on him.

"What," asked Minato, who seemed to be struck dumb?

Naruto looked up, grinning widely, "We'll take care of it for you. As a sign of our loyalty to you and the village."

Kakashi shared a glance with Sakura, unsure exactly what Naruto's intentions were.

"Impossible," shouted Sarutobi. "There is no way. They say the Nine-Tails can move mountains with just one swing of its tail. They say it has near infinite chakra."

Minato nodded, "He's right, Naruto, how do you expect to fight that … thing?"

Naruto winked, "You guys forget? I have a 'thing,' as you put it, inside of me as well. Besides," he said, with a confident grin, "I'm a lot stronger than you might expect me to be. Anyway, I'm hungry. I need…some food." And turning his back, he walked out, giving a small wave as he vanished from sight.

Sarutobi scowled, while Minato sat back exasperated, but with an odd smile on his face, "What a kid."

"Lord Hokage," said Kakashi, bowing slightly, "I apologize for Naruto's behavior. It seems, if anything, his personality remains unchanged from the day I first met him. Just like a kid."

Minato laughed, "Hah, he kind of reminds me of myself. I'm glad I was able to meet my son. Anyway, why don't you head out after him? We'll send someone for you when we're ready to talk again."

Kakashi smiled, "I see. Very good."

**Leaf Village**

"I still can't believe we have to endure this nonsense," said Naruto, walking with his hands casually resting behind his head." He was, of course, referring to the ANBU team trailing them from the roofs. They were currently walking down the main village path towards the South Gate. The main path was home to many of the traveling wanderers from other countries that came to sell their wares.

"Relax, Naruto," said Kakashi. "After all, you would be a little suspicious too if four strangers popped up in your room claiming to be time travelers. Give them some time to process everything we've told them."

"It's annoying," growled Naruto, "his own freaking son. Do we really look that suspicious?" No one answered. And then, "Can't I spook them?"

"Keep bitching, and I'll really give you something to be annoyed about," interrupted Sakura. "It's called a knuckle sandwich."

"Lovely," said Naruto, sarcastically, before leaping up to avoid a back fist. "Now, now, dear…let's act like civilized people."

"Pfft," grunted Sakura, "whatever. Hey, Sensei, where are we going?"

"I don't know," said Kakashi, "I'm following you guys. I'm just the lead man."

"The lead man," repeated Naruto, "now that's irony." said Naruto. "And all this time we were following you."

"I didn't say I was going anywhere," said Kakashi, shrugging.

Naruto grunted, "Well, alright, then, I've got the perfect place to go. It's…"

"Let me guess," interrupted Kakashi, "Ramen?"

Naruto stared blankly back.

"Hah, looks like I guessed right," said Kakashi, chuckling. "Can't lay off the noodles can you? Well, we may as well get something to eat then. Besides, you couldn't stop whining when the seven tails stepped on it."

Naruto shook a fist, "He got what he deserved. Anybody who kills my ramen is gonna get it."

Whispering, Sakura said to Sai, "Now we know what to do when the village gets invaded. Just tell Naruto that the invaders blew up the Ichiraku Stand."

"Shut up," growled Naruto, turning down a side alley way.

**Ichiraku Ramen**

"My my," said Teuchi, "slow down there champ." He was of course referring to Naruto, who seemed unable to control himself. Noodles disappeared into his mouth faster than Neji's 64 palm strike.

"Don't bother," said Sakura, watching with a small smile, "once he gets going, he doesn't stop."

"Fourths," declared Naruto loudly, and another bowl appeared before him.

Teuchi chuckled, "Wow, you remind me of this one kid. Eats just like you."

"Uh, hey…" said Sai, "perhaps it's unwise to eat so much. You might give yourself a stomach ache."

"Arkdinge. Gupepaking. Imisting."

"God," said Sakura, "don't talk with your mouth full."

After swallowing, Naruto sat back, "Ah, that was good," he said, patting his belly. "Now, I was saying that I haven't eaten ramen in such a long time that it would be ridiculous to hold back now. Mmm…"

"Yeah, right," said Kakashi, finally peeling his eyes away from his book. "Anyway, now that you're all nice and full, how about we all have a little chat?"

"About what," asked Naruto, turning.

"Not here. This way," said Kakashi, dropping his savings onto the counter. And, winking, he vanished.

"I wonder what he wants," said Sai, before he and Sakura leapt away. Naruto, after thanking the owner for the ramen (and leaving a very generous tip), took off after them. He arrived at the old training ground…the very same one the original Team Seven first received their Genin titles.

"So, Sensei," said Sakura, "what is it you wanted to tell us?"

"I'm assigning us our last mission. After this, we're all going to retire." And he said it so calmly that it was impossible to tell whether he was serious or joking.

On the other hand, Naruto had the feeling this was going to be a big mission.

"Our focus…," continued Kakashi "…is Madara. We need to stop him from obtaining the Tailed Beasts. We'll prevent him from nabbing Gaara, and at the same time we'll use whatever means at our disposal to protect Naruto. In the meantime, we'll be collecting information on the other seven beasts. I'm calling this an S-ranked mission."

"Right!"

"We do have one good thing going for us," said Kakashi. "I don't think Madara intended to land us so far back in time. If we play our cards right, we may just be able to save the Fourth Hokage. However, we must be aware of the consequences this may bring. So, I wanted to ask you; should we do it?"

"Of course," said Naruto, "he's my dad. I'm not about to let him die."

"But if we do that," said Kakashi, "the unborn Naruto will never receive the Nine Tails. Everything about his life will change. He may not even end up on the same team as Sakura and Sasuke."

"It's my dad," shouted Naruto, "I can't just sit here and watch him die. Isn't he your Sensei? C'mon Sensei!"

Kakashi instead shifted his attention to Sakura and Sai.

Sakura glanced at Naruto. The blonde stared at her calmly, yet it was clear he was begging her to agree. "I…think we should save the Fourth Hokage."

"I say we should as well," said Sai a moment later.

Kakashi eyed his former students carefully. "I thought so," he replied, a wide grin seen behind his mask, which, despite his appearance change, he kept on. "I tend to like that idea as well. So be it, Naruto will take care of it."


	4. A Little Bit Of Freetime

Short silence followed Kakashi's statement. And then Naruto, shaking his head, yelled, "WHAT?! You mean you don't even have a plan?"

"Not quite," said Kakashi, honestly. "You three can handle all of that. After all, you've all become wonderful Shinobi, much better ones than I, anyway. I'm just an old coot who's survived into the new era." He touched his chest, where a large scar marked his last major battle defending Chouji against Pein's assault.

They all stared at him silently, as Kakashi stared upwards as if pondering something. "In any case," continued Kakashi, "we will need to work together to assist Naruto in taking down the Nine-Tails."

"Good idea," agreed Sakura, "a coordinated effort by all of us would probably give us the best results." She turned to Naruto, "sure you can handle it dear?"

Naruto growled at the comment, as he folded his arms. "What?! I can take care of myself."

"On the contrary; you'll probably lose control of the Nine Tails and set it out on all of us," replied Sakura, who rolled her eyes.

"Aw, c'mon Sakura…you know I'd never do that. C'mon, now!"

Sakura sniggered, "Mmhmm."

"Anyway," said Naruto, looking to change the subject away from him, "it's nice to see Leaf Village on its feet."

"Yeah, it's so nice here," agreed Sakura, raising her head up to let the bright sun shine upon it. The warmth she felt was shared by the others, who, for too long, fought in a war-torn world.

"You know," said Sakura, "I felt so guilty that we didn't take advantage of the peace we had when we were little. I remember way back when we were the innocent little team seven. By the time we were adults, it was a little too late." She frowned slightly.

Kakashi smirked, as old memories stirred inside his mind. A vivid image of Naruto trying to attack him and then of a certain butt-poke nearly made him laugh. He closed his book and looked up, "Well, this is what being a ninja is all about. At age twelve, we consider you a weapon. Still, don't count your childhoods out just yet. It's not like you all missed anything that spectacular." He grinned at them.

"What do you mean, Sensei?"

But Kakashi only waved her off, refusing to elaborate. "Hm, good thing this place is isolated. I sure wouldn't want to meet my younger self."

Naruto laughed, "Are you kidding me? That would be the most hilarious thing ever. C'mon Sensei. Let's go and find the young you. With that shape shift thing on, no one would ever know the difference."

Kakashi shook his head, "Um, no thanks." Coughing, Kakashi glanced at a pretend watch, "Hey, why don't we go…head back to the Hokage. Let's see what they've decided."

"No need," interrupted a voice.

Four heads turned to see the Third walking towards them."

"Ah, Third," said Kakashi, bowing, "there was no need to come to us. We were just about to return."

Sarutobi shook his head.

"No, no, it's fine. I like to get out of that cramped office once in awhile anyway. Minato wanted to come, but he's a bit tied up, so he sends his regards. Now, I believe we have some things to discuss?"

"By the way, Old Man," interrupted Naruto, "can you tell your ANBU guys not to follow us? It's annoying. Besides, it's not like we're up to anything. You can trust us."

The Third looked taken aback, and he was clearly surprised to find out his ANBU spies had been discovered. "Um, well…it was a precaution. Though I am amazed you were able to detect their presence."

Naruto waved it off, "For a bunch of guys who just came out of a war-torn world, you can expect us to be pretty sharp. Those buffoons up there make so much noise even our Genin could probably detect them.

The Third tilted his head slightly as if to measure Naruto's worth. In the end, he gave a ghost of a smile before saying, "Fine…anyway, to business. I've thought about what you've all told Minato and me, and, I've decided that I'll believe your story."

"Well that's a relief," replied Naruto sarcastically. "Decided we're not spies then, huh?"

"Yes," said the Third, matter-o-fact, determined to try and retain his composure, "Moving on! We considered your suggestion about activating you all as Shinobi of the village. You burden us with a responsibility, but I think the four of you might help us out tremendously. You do seem to be trustworthy people, so I will take you for your word that you won't do anything that might endanger the village."

"Of course," said Kakashi.

The Third paused, before he handed out a sheet of paper to each member of Team Seven. "These…are documents that, when signed, will certify you as Shinobi of the village. Notice that the name section is blank. I'll leave you to figure out names for yourselves, since it'd be foolish to walk around with your original ones. I'll put these into our classified archive of Shinobi. Only the top council members, Minato, and I will be able to view it."

"Interesting," said Kakashi, scanning the contents of his paper "According to this dossier, the four of us were part of a branch of the ANBU that not only directly served the Hokage, but were known only to him as well. Very clever. Even though such a branch does not exist, no one would be able to dispute it, since the Fourth is the only one who supposedly knows about it."

"Exactly," said the Third, smiling, "a stroke of brilliance, yes?"

"If I may ask," Interrupted Sai, "what exactly were our missions as members of this branch? It'd be awkward if someone were to ask us this, and we being unable to provide an answer."

"Well, why would you need to give them an answer in the first place," argued Sarutobi?

"It will be good to have a story," said Sai, "in case we run across a situation in which we must divulge that information."

"In that case," said Sarutobi, "being from the future, the four of you must have knowledge of the various hidden villages"

"Of course," said Naruto, grinning. "Why, I can tell you every single member of Cloud's Shock Division. There was this guy, Miko…oh and…"

Before he could continue rambling, the Third raised a hand. "Alright, alright! That's very good. The point is; you all possess information about our rival villages that the village does not. We'll say that when you became of age, you were all secretly inserted into the other villages to gather information. Information on its member, goals, whatever. You could perfectly support this claim, should anybody, especially the council members poke their noses into your profiles. Meanwhile, should any person ask to see your birth, records or any other sort of documentations, we'll say that due to the risk of capture, all files and records here were destroyed."

"That's all good," said Naruto, "but even with all this elaborate planning, surely one of the council members will suspect something when four powerful Shinobi suddenly pop up out of nowhere."

"Not easily convinced are you," asked the Third, smiling. "And I see you are quite confident in your skills as well. However, in this case, I think we can be assured the council will pose very little problem to me and Minato…or you for that matter."

"You're awfully confident," said Kakashi, "the council members are not blind, or so I'm aware."

"Well, Kakashi," said Sarutobi, "your perceptions of the council are a little inaccurate. You give them much more credit than they deserve if you think they're going to look especially closely at the Shinobi archives. Most of them care more about acquiring power and influence in the village than whether or not four new Shinobi are suspicious or not."

"What about Danzo? Homura and that old lady Koharu," asked Naruto. "They're pretty observant if you ask me."

The Third sighed, "Yes, that is true. Which is why I have come up with this elaborate plan! As long as you guys don't make too much of a show of yourselves, they will leave you, Minato, and me, alone. On a side note, we probably won't send any of you on high rank missions either."

Apparently satisfied, Kakashi shrugged, "Okay. So, I take it we will have a Jounin rank in the village?"

"Hm, hm, yes, about that," said the Third. "I suppose you could just tell us something of your abilities and whatnot, but frankly, we'd like to see them for myself. We would like for you all to participate in the upcoming Jounin Exams. They will take place in one week. Plenty of time for you to prepare, no? Don't worry about the elders…they don't ever watch the exams anyway."

"Jounin Exams," said Naruto, who seemed suddenly excited. "That sounds fun."

Kakashi sighed, "Jounin Exams? Sounds…fun…" He sighed.

"What," asked Sakura, "didn't you take them?"

Kakashi looked away, "Actually I was promoted under special circumstances. Right before the war when…" He trailed off as he remembered that mission with Obito.

The Third must have noticed Kakashi's discomfort since he quickly changed the subject, "Right, anyway, I'm sure you'll all do just fine. Well, then…if you will sign in some names, I will get going and leave you to explore as you please. I've arranged accommodations in the A-District Apartments. I'm sure you all know where that is. I assure you no one will bother you there."

"Wonderful," said Kakashi, who had quickly signed a name. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai followed suit, each coming up with a name.

"Well, I'll be seeing you then," said Sarutobi. Before he quite left, Kakashi stopped him.

"Wait! There is something I still need to discuss with you and the Fourth. Alone," he added, after Naruto had stood up."

Naruto grunted, but sat back down. _'Figures! So he did have some kind of plan, and now he won't tell us!'_

The Third blinked, but nodded, "Alright, that's fine with me. We'll head back to the office."

"You three," said Kakashi, pointing at his confused team, "Head over to the apartments. Try to stay out of trouble. I'll be there shortly." And with that, he was gone with the Hokage.

"Blah," said Naruto, "stay out of trouble, he says. What does he think we'll possibly do?"

This question went ignored. Instead, Sakura asked, "so, what are we going to be calling each other now? I think we're going to have to leave our real names behind. It's kinda sad," she said, with a frown, "I feel that by throwing my real name, I'm also throwing away part of who I am."

Naruto's face darkened. "That's what we need to do, Sakura. After today, we are no longer Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi-Sensei! Those names…those people will soon be born in this time period. That part of us…we need to say goodbye to them."

Sai nodded, "It's difficult, but sometime or another, a Shinobi must accept sacrifices. And after all, we are trained to use aliases. It's just this time…we'll be using an alias indefinitely."

Sakura's fist clenched as a tear dropped from her eye. Part of her was angry at the lack of sensitivity while the other remained sad. _Well, boys will be boys, I suppose. Blunt and ignorant as usual. _

She was stopped as Naruto pulled her into an embrace. "Hey, c'mon now, don't cry, Sakura."

It was quiet for a moment, while Sakura sniffled until, "Um," interrupted Sai, "shouldn't we be going?"

Naruto groaned, as he felt Sakura pull away and nod. _Way to kill the mood, Sai…you jerk. _"Sure, why not," he said aloud.

And, as they turned, they subconsciously buried their pasts deep within their memory. They were now Ayame (Sakura), Jin (Sai), and Akuro (Naruto).

**Hokage Tower**

"Well, Kakashi…what is it you want to talk about?" As Minato looked up, he was surprised at how serious Kakashi looked. "Err…what's the matter?"

"It's about the Nine Tails," answered Kakashi.

"Yeah," said Minato, "about that. But before we get into it… Kakashi, tell me…about Naruto's life. I know I ended up sealing the fox into him, but…what happened to him after that?"

Kakashi blinked. He groaned. _'Oh_ _no! Now is not the time to be discussing this.'_

"I'm waiting Kakashi."

"Alright," said Kakashi, reluctantly. _'Damnit, I didn't plan on this. Minato Sensei…don't do anything rash.' _"After you sealed the fox into Naruto, he was forced to endure a very painful childhood with no friends. When the villagers learned that Naruto was the host of the Fox, they lost all reason. Most hated him, going as far as to attacking him. The Shinobi…many of them hated Naruto because they lost friends and family at the hands of the Fox."

With a pale face, Minato swiftly stood up, "You can't be serious?! There's no way! Didn't they know he was my son?"

Kakashi sighed, "No…they didn't. When you died, Sensei, you, Third," said Kakashi nodding towards Sarutobi, "cut all the connections between Naruto and the Fourth. No one, not even Homura, Koharu, and Danzo knew of Naruto's blood."

Minato stared at Sarutobi disbelieving. "I didn't even do it yet," protested Sarutobi, raising his hands.

Minato shook his head, "So… my son was considered a monster. Just because of me. Where is he Kakashi? I need to speak with him."

"Later, Sensei," said Kakashi. "Right now, we need to talk about two days from now…when the Nine Tails begins its attack."

Minato burst up yet again, "WHAT? Two days?!"

"Exactly," said Kakashi. "The way I see it, there are two choices. We interfere and kill the Nine-Tails in this time. Or…we follow our timeline and…" He did not want to finish, but luckily Minato got the message.

"And I seal the Nine Tails into my son? No thanks. I understand you guys are from the future, but aren't you here to change the outcome of that future. I don't care for my own life at all, but if this decision means saving my wife, my son, and many of the villagers, I'll gladly go for it."

"I agree," said Sarutobi, "as different a timeline this decision may result in, we'll deal with it. Personally, I'd rather not become Hokage again. Too much paperwork." He grinned at Minato. Turning back to Kakashi he said, "but how in the world can we possibly stop that beast, let alone destroy it completely?"

Kakashi nodded, "Most of it is going to rely on Naruto as, and I know this sounds crazy, but he is possibly the only one who can hold back the fox. While he's doing that, I will try and banish the fox to another dimension with my Sharigan."

Minato and Sarutobi looked at him as if he were crazy. "The Sharingan can do that?"

"Well," said Kakashi, "let me put it this way. 'My' Sharingan can do it. And lifting his headband, he revealed his Sharingan. Summoning his chakra, he evolved it into the dreadful Mangekyo.

"Amazing," said Sarutobi, "what is that?"

"It's called the Mangekyo Sharingan," explained Kakashi, "and as I'm sure you can guess; it is much stronger than a normal one."

After a pause, "And you can banish the fox to another dimension?"

"You're not sure, are you," said Sarutobi, narrowing his eyes at Kakashi's shifty look.

"Eh, well, I've never tried before." He shrugged.

Meanwhile, Minato still had a dumbstruck expression, "Kakashi…just how strong are you?"

Kakashi blinked, before smiling mysteriously, "Hehe. Oh I'm sure you could give me a run for my money, Sensei, if that's what you're wondering. But don't be concerned with me. As much as I hate to admit, all three of those kids have surpassed me. Like I told them, I'm just an old coot who's lucky to still be living. But Naruto, that man is something. Over the years, his abilities have gone from dead last to number one. His skills probably outclass yours."

Minato's mouth dropped, "wow, I don't know if I could believe that till I see it. Sarutobi, didn't you register them for the Jounin Exams?"

"I did."

Minato grinned, "Well…I can take a break from the office for a day. This I have to see."

Sarutobi shot his student a glare. "Minato, don't slack off on me now."

Minato shrugged, "Psshh! C'mon, Sensei, you can't tell me you're not interested either. I'll use a clone or something, but no way am I going to miss out on my son's little test. Speaking of which," he concluded, more to himself, "that means I can't let myself die at the Nine Tails hands…err…claws? Hm, Hm…right…"

Kakashi and Sarutobi stared ahead blankly as Minato went off on his little tangent, spinning theories and talking into his head.

**Apartment**

"Not bad," said Sakura, gazing into their relatively luxurious new room. There were four beds, one for each of them. A window near the back gave them a magnificent view of the mountain, with the four Hokage faces carved into them. Two bathrooms faced each other on opposite sides of the room. For this, she was particularly grateful, seeing as she really didn't want to shower in the same tub as the guys.

Naruto threw himself onto the nearest bed, and gave a deep sigh. "Wow, now this sure beats sleeping on trees. I haven't slept on a bed like this in ages. I think I can finally go to sleep."

"It's so comfy," said Sakura, patting the bed. It gave a little squeak in response. "I really missed this."

"Hm, with all this space, I'll be able to draw again," noted Sai, as he too found and took a bed.

"Yeah, we can pretty much relax and do whatever we want for awhile," said Naruto, "especially since we don't have to be worried about getting attacked every single hour of our lives. Say, that reminds me, weren't you going to draw a portrait of Ayame and me?"

"Yeah," agreed Sakura, "you were going to do it before, if only that nasty Madara hadn't been around."

"Why don't we do it now," suggested Naruto?

"I don't have anything to draw on," laughed Sai. "We could do some shopping later, after Kakashi returns."

"Say, what are we supposed to call Kakashi-Sensei, now," asked Naruto? "He never told us what his new name was going to be, before he ran off."

"No clue," said Sakura, shrugging.

"Beats me," said Sai.

"I bet it's something cool," said Naruto, "knowing Sensei, it's probably too cool for us. Ugh."

"Yo!"

Naruto nearly jumped as the oh-so familiar voice drifted in from the open window. Outside, Kakashi sat facing away from them, staring out into the heart of the village.

"Oh, you've returned Sensei," said Sakura. She paused. "Hey, you're back to your original appearance. Isn't that dangerous?"

Kakashi snapped his book shut and dropped through the open window. "It won't be a problem. If you were listening earlier, I can change back and forth whenever I please. Besides, I'll be holed up in here more than anything else. I'm a little too old to be running around. With Make-Out Tactics, what else do I need? I can just have you guys bring me back food."

Sakura shook her head, "More like you're just a lazy couch potato, Sensei."

"Yeah, like we're really going to bring food for you," snorted Naruto, crossing his arms, "I would die before I did that."

Kakashi groaned, "What happened to the good old days when you guys listened and did everything I said. How I wish you weren't all grown up."

"Yeah, yeah...hey, Sensei! What are we supposed to call you," asked Naruto?

Kakashi gave them a smirk, "I should...but...I don't feel like telling you."

For a moment, there was silence. And then, Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto were bursting out in laughter, leaving Sai entirely bewildered and clueless, reaching for his book on jokes.

"Hahaha, I haven't gotten you two with that in a long time," laughed Kakashi.

"Yeah," laughed Naruto, "I remember the first time you did it. It's when we were first introducing ourselves. I thought you were a prick back then. Hahaha."

Kakashi stopped laughing and scowled. "Yeah? Well, the three of you were all brats."

This statement was ignored, as Naruto turned to Sakura. "Hey, sweety, Kakashi used to be late all the time too, remember? And every time, he came up with one of those lame excuses. I think he used the black cat crossed my path one like sixteen times on us. What was the other one? Oh yeah, the old lady."

Sakura laughed, "Haha! Yeah, I thought Sensei was such a jerk, but he was kind of funny too. I still remember when you got him with the eraser. Haha, his face!"

A vein bulged in Kakashi's head. _'They're brats to end, eh? Oh, I'll get them yet. Hah, next mission, I'll make them wait a whole day. Yeah, that'll get 'em. Look at them; insulting me when I'm right here."_

"You okay, Sensei? You look a little frustrated," said Naruto, trying not to smile, and failing miserably.

He received the finger as a response. "Shoo!"

"Good times," laughed Sakura, "good times. Anyway, Sensei, the three of us are going to check out the village. It's too good an opportunity to pass up, so we'll see you later. And don't worry, I'll make sure Akuro remembers to bring some food."

If Kakashi's glare could kill, his ex-students would have been dead. "Sure, go ahead," he said through clenched teeth. "Later gators."

Naruto snorted, "Yeah, whatever. Let's go, Jin." Then, giving a short nod, he vanished along with Sai, leaving Sakura staring blankly after them.

For a moment, she remained silent, staring at the empty space where Naruto had been. And then, much to Kakashi's dismay, she vanished, yelling, "NARUTO!"

Kakashi smiled, listening to Naruto's voice become softer and softer, until it utterly vanished. Then, sitting down on his own bed, he opened his unfinished book. Things were just as they should be; normal. He heard a loud thud in the distance. Now that was the team he knew and respected. Things were looking good.


	5. Kushina Uzumaki

**Kushina Uzumaki**

For Sarutobi, the day could not be any better. The sun shined brightly in the sky, the wind was calm, the birds were chirping happily, the villagers were moving about, doing their every day things; the village was receiving a rather large amount of missions. And he, Sarutobi, was sitting on his balcony, enjoying a nice smoke.

But best of all, there was no paperwork, no bothersome Jounin complaining to him every five seconds, no Council Members to deal with, no speeches to come up with, just nothing. Instead, his successor, Minato, was taking care of all of it. He didn't regret any of it.

His thoughts were broken as Minato walked in, looking like a man who needed serious rest. Sarutobi didn't feel any sympathy for him. '_Been there, done that already.'_

"How are they doing?"

"You mean Kakashi's group?"

Minato nodded, "Yeah them. Well…how's Naruto doing?"

Sarutobi shrugged, "Fine, I guess, considering he's only been here for a day. Oh, and its Akuro now. They agreed that it was best to use a codename at all times."

Minato sighed, "Akuro, huh? I guess that's a good idea. But, man, that's awkward. I can't even call my son by his own name. I wonder what Kushina will say about that? You know her; probably won't hear of it."

Sarutobi winced, "By the way, Minato, how did she react when you told her about him?"

Minato groaned, "You know her, Sensei. Stared at me like I was crazy and then she began peppering me with all sorts of questions"

Clearing his voice, Minato tried his best to imitate his wife. "WHAT? A man came from the future who's our son? Why didn't you tell me right away? You didn't invite him over. Blah, blah, blah. I can't even remember half the things she asked me. So anyway, she wants me to invite him over."

Sarutobi chuckled, "Hah, that woman sure is impulsive. Doesn't know anything about the guy, and she's still demanding you bring him in for tea."

"Tell me about it," said Minato, shaking his head. "So…where is he again?"

"Down by that practice area where you used to go when you still had your team."

Minato nodded, "I see; the one with the three stumps right? What are they doing there?"

Sarutobi tossed him his crystal ball. "See for yourself."

Minato caught the ball, before waving a hand over it. He watched the scene closely. "Well…I see they are having fun. I'm going to visit them."

"Okay. And Kushina…What about the Nine Tailed Fox? Are you going to tell her about our plan?"

Minato nodded, "Kakashi's coming over too."

He quickly stood up, tossing the ball back to his Sensei. "Well, I'll leave the office in your capable hands, Sensei. Gotta introduce my son to his mother. There should be some paperwork coming in. Take care of it for me, yeah? Thanks."

Sarutobi's eyes widened, as he rapidly raised an arm. "Wait!" But it was too late. Minato vanished in a puff of smoke. The pipe fell out of the Third's mouth, bouncing away on the floor. "Minato… you're dead." There was a knock on the door. Sarutobi groaned, "Not again…"

**Practice Area Three**

-Poof-

With an amused smile, five Narutos began dancing around Sai, who glared at each one with annoyance. "Hehe, missed again Jin," they chanted in unison."

The artist currently had his ANBU sword drawn, gazing calmly at each clone in turn. Each danced around, making comical poses. "This ceases to be amusing," muttered Sai, sheathing his sword.

"Aw," taunted one of the Narutos, "giving up already? C'mon Jin, you can do better." The clone froze, as Sai pulled out a sketchbook.

"You're right," replied Sai, "I can do better. Ninja Art! Super Beast Imitation!" Drawing with inhumane speed and using his chakra, Jin sent forth five great lion-like creatures towards the Naruto clones.

"Shit," yelled a clone, as it was quickly destroyed, with a swipe from the ink-made beast. Two more fell, before Naruto took the battle back onto his terms.

"Wind Style: Air Bullets!" Three bullets made of wind shot from one of the Naruto's mouths. towards the attacking beasts. The fierce, destructive wind of the air bullets easily tore through the inky beasts, leaving black marks all over the field. Sai quickly threw a kunai in Naruto's direction, before using Body-flicker and vanishing.

"Up here!"

Naruto gracefully jumped to the side, just as Sai planted his sword into the ground, having missed his partner by mere inches. A moment later, he felt a kunai to his throat. "Damn, too fast," he muttered, cursing inwardly.

Naruto laughed playfully, releasing his friend. Twirling his kunai in his hands, he grinned. "That's right, and don't you forget it."

"Showoff," said Sakura from the sidelines. "Now it's my turn," she grinned, tightening her gloves.

Naruto smirked. "What makes you think you'll do any better dear?"

Before Sakura could retort, the Fourth appeared between them. "Hi there. I see you guys are getting along well."

"Oh…Lord Hokage," said Naruto bowing slightly. Sai and Sakura quickly followed suit.

"Please, don't bother with formality. Just call me Minato," said the Fourth quickly. He wanted to tell Naruto, 'Or, you could just call me dad,' but something in his head stopped him, thinking it unwise.

"Minato," acknowledged Naruto, with some hesitation, "what did you need from us?" He flinched as Sakura hit him in the arm.

"He's your dad," she whispered, "don't be so cold towards him."

Minato scratched his head, wondering how his son would react. "Well," he began. He paused, clenching his teeth. "Yomoerwantaseeya."

Team seven blinked. "Come again," said Naruto.

Minato took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Your mother would like to see you."

For a moment, Minato kept his eyes shut, bracing himself for some kind of outburst. When no such sound came, he opened a single eye. He nearly laughed. Nearly.

If Naruto's mouth had been detachable, it would have dropped to the ground. As it was, he was gaping open-mouthed at his father. Sakura and Sai were both gazing at their friend; they too wondering how he would react.

Naruto opened his mouth a few times, though nothing came out. Then, blinking, he sputtered, "W-what?"

Minato had been worried of this reaction. "Yeah," he responded lamely.

For a moment, father and son stared at each other; the former nervous and slightly worried, and the latter shocked.

Sakura tapped her husband. "Yo…earth to Akuro. Wake up sweetie." This snapped Naruto out of his daydream as he straightened out.

"Yeah…yeah sure," he began. "I'd love to meet mom…" He paused before he said, "Dad."

This time, it was Minato's turn to gape. "D-did you just call me dad?"

Naruto gulped. And then he nodded, "Well…you are my father." And despite the reluctance of it, Minato could tell his son meant it. And that meant the world to him.

"Well, alright then! Let's go," said Minato, who seemed a lot happier suddenly. "Follow me."

As the group leapt away, Naruto turned to Sakura.

"Did I…just do what I thought I did?"

She gave him a smile, a quick kiss, and then winked. "Now just do the same with your mom, and you'll be fine." And then she sped up, leaving Naruto behind with Sai.

"You know," said Sai, "maybe you should read some of my books, Akuro. They're a big help."

Naruto stared at him like he was crazy. "Yeah," he said, "only when I'm desperate. C'mon, they're getting away."

**Namikaze Residence**

Kushina Uzumaki was one of the most attractive women in the village. With her pink hair, and light blue eyes, she was quite a sight to behold. At the moment, she was rather big, with a second Naruto one day short of being born. As they gazed upon her, both Naruto and Sai found it difficult not to stare. And stare they did, nearly drooling and wetting their pants.

It wasn't until Sakura slapped them both, before they snapped out of their fantasy.

Minato laughed, "Akuro…Ayame…Jin, this is my wife, Kushina. Kushina, these are our friends from the future. And this," he said, pulling Naruto away from his team, "is our son all grown up. Say hello to Naruto."

Naruto stammered a hello, while Kushina's eyes shot open. And then she pushed Minato out of the way, and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Oh, Naruto, Minato told me all about you. I'm so sorry about what he did to you." She glared at him for a moment, sending Minato jumping back, trying to point out that he hadn't done anything yet. "But don't worry…mother will take care of you." For a mother that was a day away from giving birth, this was pretty impressive. For Naruto, it was extremely awkward.

She smiled, as she held Naruto at a distance. A change had come over the blonde after that little episode. Instead of timid, he was now terrified, wondering exactly what she meant when she said she was going to take care of him.

Meanwhile, his mother looked him up and down. "Oh, Minato," she giggled, "look how handsome our son is. He looks just like you. Come on; let's get you something to eat."

And despite, Naruto's protesting look, she dragged him away through a doorway.

In the next room, they could hear Naruto's protests. "Wait…Mom, stop! I can feed myself." It was an odd thought that Naruto was getting pushed around by his mother, since he was taller by at least a head, not to mention much stronger.

There seemed to be some struggle, as a lot of crashes could be heard. Sakura giggled, while Minato and Sai merely smiled. "Hey, Ayame," whispered Sai, "wait till she sees his penis."

Sakura's eyes widened, before she yelled, "JIN!" And then, she gave him a right hook, knocking him through the wall. Seething mad, she walked after him, while the ex-Root leaped away from the area, laughing. Sakura would have given chase, except for the fact that a moment later, Kushina walked out.

She was smiling oddly, before she turned to Minato. "Sheesh, he's just like you, Minato. He just loves the ramen."

Minato smiled deeply, "Ramen? Did you say ramen? Mmm, did you make me some?"

Kushina rolled her eyes, before indicating to the next room where the sweet smell of chicken Miso ramen was just playing with Minato's senses. Giving Kushina a quick kiss, he disappeared into the next room. What proceeded next was the worst case of slurping Sakura and Kushina had ever heard. The two women glanced at each other, shuddered, and then walked outside.

They walked out to the porch, sitting down on a plain white bench. "So," started Kushina, "you must be Sakura, Naruto's wife?"

Sakura smiled awkwardly. _'Oh, wonderful! She already knows I'm Naruto's wife?'_

"Yeah… but, actually it's Ayame now."

Kushina frowned, "Oh phooey. I heard about that name thing from Minato. Don't throw your names away. It's apart of you that you'll never be able to shut off completely."

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, while pondering this thought. Ultimately she realized the older woman was right. "I don't know. Sai and Naruto both thought it was the best idea. So…I kinda just went along with them."

Kushina laughed, "Oh boys…they just blunder through things without thinking of the consequences. Besides, you look like a Sakura to me. If you don't mind, that's exactly what I'll call you."

Sakura frowned, "What about when the real Sakura is born," she asked, "wouldn't that raise unwanted questions?"

Kushina smiled, "So? Then use your codenames when in public. But we're all friends here, right? Well, anyone who's a friend of Minato's is a friend of mine. Don't worry; I can keep a secret. So…friends," she asked, smiling slightly.

Sakura grinned, "Yeah! Friends!" And the two women hugged.

"Tell me Sakura," said Kushina, when they separated, "what's Naruto like? He seems everything like his father from what I've seen, but…tell me more. I understand he has the Nine-Tails inside him. What was that like for him?"

Sakura's eyes took a faraway look.

Kushina seemed to pick this up, "Let me guess. He hasn't had the easiest of lives, has he?"

Sakura shook her head, "When Naruto was growing up, nobody knew of his relationship with the Fourth Hokage. It was pretty much understood by the older generation of our village that the demon fox was sealed into Naruto. They interpreted that as meaning that Naruto was the nine-tailed fox. The younger generation didn't know anything about Naruto so they picked up on their parents' hostile treatment of Naruto and did the same."

Kushina gasped, and brought a hand to her mouth. "That's terrible!"

Sakura broke off, and began to tear up, "I was like one of those kids once. I'm sorry, Mrs. Uzumaki!" She hung her head loosely, with her arms at her side.

"Hey, hey," said Kushina, "don't worry, Sakura. The point is you changed right? Um, tissue?"

Sakura gratefully accepted the cloth, before wiping her eyes. "When Naruto first became a ninja, he was placed on a team with me, another guy, and our Sensei, Kakashi. I think we were his first real friends."

Kushina nodded, "I see." And then, she grinned. "Kakashi becomes a Jounin instructor? That must have been a big step for him."

Sakura laughed, "I'll bet."

"I see you two are getting along," said Minato, followed by Naruto.

"Hey Son," said Kushina.

"Hey Naruto!"

Naruto blinked. Then he tilted his head awkwardly. "Um… Ay…"

"Son… is that the way you talk to your wife," demanded Kushina. It's Sa-Ku-Ra!"

Naruto and Minato shared confused glances. "B-but…"

"Sa-Ku-Ra," repeated Kushina, and this time, Sakura joined in.

Naruto blinked again. Finally, his eyes narrowed, "Okay, Sakura, mind explaining why we're going back to our old names. Didn't we decide it was for the best that we leave it behind?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, but Kushina did all the talking. "Uh-uh, from what I heard, you and this Sai character pressured Sakura into that decision. Did either of you stop to get her feelings? No! It's Sakura, and that isn't ever going to change."

Naruto frowned even more, "Well, I guess I can't argue with that. Dad, how do you put up with mother?"

Minato laughed, "Yeah, she's a handful sometimes. Is Sakura like that too?"

As they had this conversation, neither could see the furious looks from their respective wives faces. Consequently, neither of them could see the punch until they were both flying through the air.

"It's just a name," protested Naruto, as he landed on top of Minato.

Sakura and Kushina winked at each other. "We like it better that way," they said, simultaneously.

A vein bulged in Naruto's head, as he stood, while Minato stared helpless. "Well," said Naruto, "I guess that's women for you. Fine, sweetie… I guess we need to tell Sai the great news."

"No need. I already heard their decision."

High above them, Sai sat on a tree; his brush moving furiously across his paper. "So, we are back to Sai, Naruto, and Sakura, yes?"

"I guess," replied Naruto, shooting a look towards the two girls, who gave him angelic looks in return.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before Minato spoke. "Well, since we're all here together, I think it's time we make a few announcements. Kakashi!"

From the shadows, their Jounin Sensei walked out. "So? I guess your little get-together was productive?"

"Kakashi," asked Kushina, "Oh my god…that's Kakashi?" She blushed, _'Wow! He's hot!'_

Kakashi scratched his head, trying not to feel too embarrassed. "Hi there, Kushina. Yeah, I'm Kakashi, but, enough about me! Are we ready to talk about tomorrow?"

Kushina blinked, "Tomorrow?" She saw the serious looks on everyone's faces, and narrowed her eyes. "Explain, Minato."

**Ten Minutes Later**

"I see," she said. "So the Demon Fox attacks the village tomorrow. And my son is going to hold it off, while Kakashi banishes it to another dimension?" She began nodding to herself.

"Whew," whispered Naruto to Sakura, "I thought she was about to blow a fuse." Apparently this was everyone's thought, for they were all letting out held breaths. And then…

"No!"

Kakashi and Minato groaned. Naruto fell onto his back, cursing to himself. Sai blinked. And Sakura laughed. "Not happening," said Kushina, folding her arms and shaking her head. "I won't put my son's life to risk."

"Uh, mom," said Naruto, "I can take care of myself. I do have the nine tails inside of me. Plus, I have defeated the seven tails. I think I can hold off the nine tails for a few minutes."

Kushina shook her head, "Nope, not hearing it."

Naruto looked up and shrugged, "Unfortunately mom… if I don't do it, then nobody can."

"I'll do it," said Kushina, stubbornly. "It's only five minutes right? While Kakashi gets that eye going. I'll do it."

Naruto smacked his forehead, while the others sighed. "Mom…you're pregnant." This thought seemed to just occur to Kushina, as she gazed down at her oversized belly. She frowned.

"Honey," said Minato, "the only one who can do this is Naruto. And don't worry. I'll be right there with him on Gamabunta. I won't let our son die. Please…let him do this."

"It's the only way," said Kakashi, "unless you'd rather your husband sacrifice himself and seal the fox into your unborn son?" This was a pretty cold thing to say, but it seemed to have snapped Kushina back to reason.

She began to cry, before she pulled Naruto into an embrace. "No, I don't want Minato to die either. Naruto…" Naruto stiffened.

"Y-yes, Mom?"

"You may be from the future, but you're still my son. If you dare die…I'm going to drag you back from the grave and kill you myself."

Naruto paled, "Sure mom," he said, patting her on the back. "You can count on me."

Kushina nodded, "Well, you're an adult now." Her eyes suddenly glared daggers at everyone, sending them scrambling back a bit, "You ALL better come back."

"Of course," said Kakashi, grinning.

"You got it, Mrs. Uzumaki," said Sakura.

Sai lazily waved a hand.

Naruto glared at them, "Oh that's funny you're all saying that considering I'm the one who has to do most of the bloody fighting." They ignored him.

Minato pulled his wife into a hug, "don't worry honey. This time tomorrow, the fox will be gone and we'll be able to celebrate. Have a feast ready for us, eh?"

Kushina grinned, "You bet!"

Minato nodded, before turning to the group. "Alright, go home and get some rest. Tomorrow, I will get all available forces within the village ready in order to support you guys. Naruto and I will provide a distraction against the nine tails, while Sakura and Sai will do their best to protect Kakashi, who in turn will attempt to use his Mangekyo sharingan. I will put the village on full alert. All Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU will be ready to fight, while all Genin will evacuate the villagers. Should it come to it, I am prepared to seal the fox into Naruto.

"Ahhh," interrupted Sakura. "It just struck me. But…I don't think I can help."

Five pairs of eyes settled on her. "Why not," asked Minato.

Sakura pointed to Kushina, "Well, Mr. Hokage, your wife is about to give birth. Actually, she gives birth right as the Nine-Tails attacks. With everyone running around, somebody needs to make sure there are no complications. Like me." She glanced up innocently, while everyone turned towards Kushina's oversized belly.

"I-I'm giving birth tomorrow," she asked, bewildered.

Minato smacked his forehead, "I should have realized that. If I was going to seal anything into my newborn son, he would have had to have been born." His shoulders sagged as he groaned. "Well, try not to let anything happen to my wife then, Sakura. She really means the world to me."

Sakura grinned, while Kushina blushed a bright red, "Aww. How sweet. Don't worry, she's in good hands."

Minato briefly glanced at his wife. Then he turned back to the team, "Alright, you guys are free to do as you please. Try to get some rest. Hell, we all need a little bit right now."

"SIR!"

Minato grinned, before waving his hand, "Good luck! Dismissed!"

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai left while Naruto remained behind. Kushina and Minato glanced at him curiously.

"Hey, Dad! So…I always wondered just how strong you are."

Minato laughed, "I was wondering the same about you."

"Wanna spar?"

Minato grinned, "A spar with my son? I don't know; what do you think, Kushina?"

"Definitely. I'd watch, but…" She trailed off as she pointing at her belly.

"You're on," said Minato, "personally; I was hoping to get a good look at you before the Jounin Exams. I'll meet you back at the training field. Race ya?"

"You'll lose," said Naruto, confidently, "come on!"

And leaving Kushina, who was smiling brightly, father and son dashed off, ready for the spar of their lives.


	6. Father Son Spar

**Father-Son Spar!**

As he gazed upon the field where his ninja career began, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. This was the second practice round in which he had no idea what to expect. The first time had been with Kakashi and with the Bell Test, which had been a disaster. Across from him, his father stood, grinning from ear to ear.

For the moment, father and son stared each other down, imagining the others abilities.

"Ready, Dad," asked Naruto, confidently.

"Anytime you're ready, kiddo."

Naruto felt a twinge of annoyance there, but he could see the playful look on his dad's face. "Sure pops," he countered. "I hope you're not too disappointed when I beat you into the ground."

Minato let out a chuckle. "Oh, don't count your old man out just yet. Speaking of which, I'm not _that _old."

Naruto smirked, "Hmph!" He dashed forward just as a breeze blew its way onto the field. Intending to test his father's defense, Naruto let loose a single jab, watching as his father used a single hand to knock it gently to the side.

Following up, Naruto placed a hand on the ground, before kicking out with both feet towards Minato's face. Minato in return ducked under the kick, before dashing in and giving Naruto a palm straight to the stomach, knocking him back.

As Naruto stood again, Minato carefully observed his fighting stance. There was none, as Naruto took the charging method again. Minato's fighting style was unlike all the clans of Leaf Village. He understood that each and every style had its own weaknesses. Therefore, his fighting style was an adaptive one to counter the one his opponent used. From what he could tell Naruto didn't have a real fighting style either. Instead, he just charged forward and used raw power to exploit his opponent's defense.

Minato frowned, _'Weak attacks like this can't possibly beat me. What's he trying to do? This can't be all he's got.'_

Deciding to see the extent of Naruto's abilities, Minato charged forward as well, drawing a kunai. He blocked an incoming punch, before flicking his wrist with such speed that Naruto did not catch it. Luckily, a moment later, Naruto side stepped to avoid the kunai, watching it sail past his ear. His eyes widened just a bit, _'Shit! Where'd that come from? Oh, right, his other hand. Sneaky bastard! He's fast. I didn't even see his hand move.'_

Naruto stepped back a pace or two, intending to change his approach. Instead, he had to defend against a flurry of punches, as his father took the offensive. The punches felt like metal knuckles pounding on his defense, and while a single one would have been manageable, a couple of dozen were quite painful.

Groaning, Naruto focused chakra into his foot, before kicking the ground and launching himself into the air. He used a quick wind jutsu to direct the wind down towards the ground. Aided by both the wind and gravity, he slammed into the ground with his shoulder, with such speed, that Minato could barely get out of the way.

"Wow…that was fast," complimented Minato, as he stared at the small hole his son had created. "That would have hurt if it hit me."

"Damn, that did hurt," laughed Naruto, as he rubbed his aching shoulder. "I don't think I'll be trying that again." He smiled. His father had so far avoided taking any serious hits. The straightforward method was a failure, although Naruto never really expected it to work. Therefore, he changed his stance. _'First was power,' _he thought. _'Now, let's add some speed into the mix.'_

At this new stance, Minato had to rethink. _'That stance! That's the Taijutsu stance Might Guy uses. So, he was just playing with me, eh? Finally starting to take it serious. Don't tell me, he's a Taijutsu specialist. My own son…specializes in Taijutsu.'_

And the thought made Minato shiver. There was just no way. _'Hopefully,'_ thought Minato.

He let out a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. When he looked up, Naruto was gone, leaving only a trail of dust to show the direction he had moved in. Because of this, Minato had just enough time to duck under Naruto's roundhouse kick. "Bad move," said Naruto, who vanished yet again.

'_Damn,'_ cursed Minato, glancing down as Naruto kicked up, _'that's the Leaf Hurricane technique.' _As he sailed up into the air, his jaw aching from the kick, he could feel Naruto's presence behind him._ 'And that's Shadow of the Dancing Leaf! Which means…'_

Almost as if Naruto could read his father's thoughts, he said, "That's right! Primary Lotus time!" Tightly, he wrapped his arms around his father's chest, only to blink, and then frown.

Not bothering to do the technique, Naruto drew a kunai and stabbed the body, watching as it was replaced by a log. _'Replacement? How careless of me.' _Landing softly, he glanced up, where his father waited smirking.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Growling furiously, Sakura looked back from the direction they had come from. "Where did that idiot go? We were supposed to go out for ramen."

Kakashi smiled, "He probably stuck around the fourth's house. After all, they are his family."

"Hm, I didn't detect his presence on the way here. I don't even think he followed us from the house."

Sakura sighed. "When he gets back," she said softly, "he is so dead." And she punched her hand for good measure.

Kakashi flinched at the sound. When Sakura punched her hand, it was never a good sign, especially for the target of her frustrations. _'Good luck, Naruto,'_ he thought, in prayer. '_You're going to need it.'_

The group was currently heading for the practice ground where Naruto and Minato were sparring, though they were unaware of that fact. They had been beaten because Kakashi had refused to run. Because of this, they were only just nearing the field now. A burst of chakra made them stop in their tracks.

"Well," said Kakashi, "I think I know where Naruto went."

"We were supposed to train," growled Sakura, tightening her gloves. "When I reach him, grrr…" And she stomped forward, shaking her fists.

**Minato and Naruto**

Minato smiled, "Well, that could have been dangerous for you and me both." He was, of course, referring to the Lotus technique.

"Yeah," said Naruto, "well, more dangerous for you, I think."

Minato nodded, "Can't argue with that…assuming I took the full hit. So, anyway, what's next?"

Naruto's reply was a dash forward. The blonde circled Minato once, before leaping towards his target. Minato glanced to his left at an incoming kick. _'I see. Leaf Whirlwind, eh? It's a two kick-combo that would take down any regular man easily. Too bad!' _Minato pushed chakra into his hand, before he easily stopped Naruto's first kick dead. This in itself was pretty impressive, but Naruto had no time to admire this as he felt a punch land in his gut, backed by the power of raw chakra. He coughed up a bit of blood, before sailing backwards and landing on his ass.

"Won't work, son," said Minato. "You can charge at me all day and you'll never touch me."

Naruto growled, but he conceded this point with a nod. "Alright, pops. So I can't beat you with Taijutsu. How about some good ol' fashioned Ninjutsu."

Minato smirked, "Sure, kiddo. Whatever floats your boat." Secretly, he was glad. _'Now this is what I really wanted see.'_

If Minato though his hand signs were fast, he was greatly mistaken. Ahead of him, Naruto flashed through some series with a speed that made his hands nearly invisible. And before Minato knew it, a large stream of fire was headed right for him.

'_Fireball Jutsu? Not bad!' _

Jumping up to avoid the fire, Minato quickly spotted Naruto. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Naruto had quickly reacted to the sudden development, and stopped his fire attack. As tiny fireballs rained down on him, he imagined himself as a drop of water; fluid and very hard to hit. To Minato, it appeared his son was doing some kind of dance; his body undulating like a wave, weaving through the rain of fire coming down on him.

When Minato landed, his son was waiting. "Wind Style: Air Bullet!" Minato could almost feel the chakra building in his son's mouth and next thing he knew, an enormous ball made of fierce wind shot towards him. At the range Naruto shot from, it was impossible to dodge, considering the size of the attack. Luckily for Minato, he knew a few tricks.

From Naruto's point of view, his attack hit Minato dead on. Something in his head, however, warned him it wasn't over. _'Below me!' _Naruto quickly jumped out of the way, as a hand shot out of the ground. _'He knows earth style too?'_

As Minato emerged, he was already performing hand signs. As he finished, he slammed the ground, "Earth Style: Dark Swamp!" Naruto's eyes widened, as the ground beneath his feet suddenly turned to a muddy lake. With a splash he fell through. It wasn't deep and he managed to keep his head above the water. Unfortunately the point of the jutsu was to bog down opponents. Moving in it was almost impossible.

Minato solidified a portion of the swamp in front of Naruto and carefully jumped onto it. He folded his arms and then looked down triumphantly. "Haha, Naruto, looks like I win. All that tough talk you did on the way here didn't pay off did it? And you know what they say. The nail that sticks up gets hammered down, hehehe…whoa!"

A moment later, Minato found himself stuck in the mud as well, the patch of ground he was standing on gone. Naruto grinned at him, "You're right…the nail that sticks up gets hammered down."

Minato scowled, "Argh, I should have expected you would know Earth Jutsu as well. Just how many elements can you use?"

"Just the three. While we're on the subject," Naruto continued, "Sakura can use two. But that doesn't really matter because her punches can kill a guy. Like, seriously. Sai…well, I've never seen him use anything except fire, but I'm sure he knows more. And Kakashi…I think he can use four, maybe five."

Minato blinked, "Five?! No way, that's not possible."

Naruto pointed to his eyes, which were now in Sharingan form. "Copycat Ninja remember? He's copied Fire, Water, Earth, and he has Lightning. I'm not sure, but I think he can use a few wind Jutsu as well. But he'll never copy all my wind jutsu, because I kick his ass before he can even try, Hehehe."

Minato shook his head, "Damn, I wish I could use five elements." He suddenly looked down at the mud surrounding his body. Groaning, he tried to struggle out. Then he looked up, "By the way; why are we still here?"

Naruto blinked and looked down at the muddy water that had him trapped. He realized he had just been sitting in there having a friendly chat. He looked up, "I don't know."

And simultaneously, both used their chakra to break through the swamp, landing on the edge. Touching the ground again, Minato dispelled his own jutsu. Unfortunately, this still left both men dirty and smelly. "Shall we continue," asked Minato.

Naruto shrugged, "Why not?"

Minato took the lead this time, dashing forward, elbowing Naruto in the gut. The blow wasn't too bad, but it knocked Naruto away into a tree. He started as his father threw out a kunai, but quickly stopped. He almost laughed at the aim, which, in Naruto's opinion, was terrible…considering the fact it was about a foot away from him. Still, the smirk on Minato's face was slightly suspicious. By the time Naruto figured out it was a trap; he was already bound by tight steel wires.

And at the end, Minato held the wires in his mouth. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" A thin stream of fire began to creep its way down the wire from Minato's mouth, quickly gaining speed.

Naruto grunted as he struggled against his bonds, trying to move his hands. After a moment, he managed some chakra into his hand, letting it engulf it like an aura. "Wind Blades!"

A gust of wind exploded from Naruto's hand, easily severing the steel wires. Unfortunately, the flame was a little too close and the wind quickly spread it, sending it flying everywhere. Naruto just managed to raise an arm, before a stray burst of fire shot blasted him.

The burning sensation he felt made Naruto tremble, but he stubbornly contained the yell that was dying to come out. After all, in Naruto's point of view, nothing was more embarrassing than showing weakness in front of your father.

As Naruto rubbed his arm, and leapt away, he watched as the tree he was tied to get burnt to a crisp. He turned over to his father, who watched amused. Glaring at him, he threw his arms up in frustration, despite the pain from the burns. Luckily, the burns were healing quite rapidly, thanks to the Nine-Tail Fox.

"Are we trying to kill each other?"

Minato smiled, "Nah, I figured you would escape."

Naruto growled, "Pfft, well thanks for the vote of confidence. Maybe I should take this sparring a little more seriously; you pulling stunts like that. That actually hurt."

Minato nodded, "Exactly! I _want _you to show me more. I know you can do better. Kakashi says your abilities surpass even me. So far, neither of us has broken a sweat. I hate to say it, but I'm a little bored."

This seemed to get Naruto's attention. _'Oh that does it! No one calls me boring and gets away with it.' _Naruto smirked, "More, huh? Alright, I'll give you more. Don't say I didn't warn you though." And he placed his hands into the proper hand sign. Minato instantly recognized it and his eyes narrowed.

'_That sign! He's using Shadow Clones? But that's a forbidden technique. Why would he throw away his chakra on those? Oh well, I guess I'll use it too.'_

Simultaneously with his son, Minato shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

-POOF-

Minato had to bite his lip to keep from cursing, but it didn't stop his eyes from widening. Surrounding him and his two clones was an army of Naruto clones. There were so many, Minato couldn't even count them. "A-amazing…that's the Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu!" And compared to them, his two clones were nothing.

"Well," said Minato, through clenched teeth, "there are certainly more of you. But quantity isn't everything. Besides, you'd have to have split your chakra between them all. Big mistake." To prove his point, Minato and his clones rushed forward into a crowd of Narutos.

"Not very smart," said one of the Narutos before it jumped up, along with hundreds of its counterparts.

The next moment went by very quickly and very painfully as Minato recalled later that day, when he was covered in bruises. His clones had taken out three, maybe four clones when they were destroyed. Next, Minato remembered five clones appearing underneath him, kicking him upwards like the Leaf Hurricane technique.

And then, he recalled how the remaining Narutos; the whole army of them had blotted out the sun. He clearly remembered the next few words. "Here we go," shouted one of the Narutos. "Naruto Ninja Chronicles! Two-Thousand Punch Chapter! Let's fly!"

Minato grimaced as the first wave of clones pummeled him into the ground. Rolling, he avoided a second wave, only to find himself surrounded. Leaping up, he flashed a series of signs, before thrusting his hands into the ground. As the clones advanced, spikes shot up from the ground, protectively around him, destroying the clones closest to him. "Earth Style," said Minato leaping behind the wave of Naruto clones, "Acrolith Beating." Raising his palm to the heavens, he began concentrating dirt and earth to a single spot. As it began to collect, a large rock of earth was formed. Thrusting this hand down, he obliterated a good chunk of the remaining clones.

The remaining clones were then dispelled as Naruto stopped his own technique. "Hey, that's a cool move. I've never seen that one before."

Minato smiled, "Why thank you. I learned that one during the War you know. Ah, those were bad days. Whew."

"But enough about my technique. Yours was something else. How do you have the chakra still to even stand after creating so many of them?"

Naruto laughed, "I have the nine-tails in me, remember? Because of him, I'm blessed with incredible stores of chakra. Kakashi-Sensei says the amount I possess could very well be infinite. Never really tested that out though. It gets very tiring after awhile. We can still go at it, if you'd like?"

Minato smirked, "Of course! And I'm beginning to see what Kakashi meant when he says your abilities surpass my own. Although no more of those crazy clones, eh? A little too much for this old man."

Naruto shared a laugh, before he narrowly ducked under his father's quick round house kick. "What?" He was stopped short, as Minato suddenly appeared behind him. Using the Body-Flicker Technique, Naruto leapt away, only to find himself right in front of his father yet again. And this time, he felt the sharp jab hit his spine, knocking him forward.

'_Dang, he just got like three times faster. What's going on?'_

As Naruto slowly stood, Minato smirked and vanished yet again. It wasn't until he felt a heel plant itself in his back that Naruto finally understood. _'Ah, his special. That cursed Flying Thunder God Technique! No wonder I can't keep track.'_

But knowing the technique did not help Naruto much, as his father swung around behind him yet again. The pain of the kicks and punches didn't bother so much as the fact that memories of his Genin training days were surfacing.

Specifically, during the Bell Test, when Kakashi had embarrassed the hell out of him with the butt poke. He had learned the lesson there well. Never let your opponent get behind you.

Grunting, he quickly twisted and blocked a series of punches, before leaping away as Minato got behind him. _'Damnit! He must have placed his seal right on the back of my shirt or something when we were talking. No wonder he keeps getting behind me. _

"Oof," the blonde groaned as he was sent flying into a rock by a sharp kick to the back. As he hit the rock, Minato appeared on top of him, stomping him towards the ground. The clone as it turned out to be vanished, and Minato laughed at his own carelessness. "Trust him to pull a fast one like that. So…he went hiding into the woods huh?

Covered by trees, Naruto waited for Minato to approach. The Hokage stopped just short of the tree line. Raising his hands, he said, "I hope you didn't forget that I marked you." And then he vanished.

When he appeared, Minato was surprised to find the shirt that he had marked the seal for his technique on lying on a rock. A sudden surge of chakra warned him of impending attack, and he quickly jumped away, catching the glimpse of a bright blue ball; a mass of visible chakra swirling like wind. The orb smashed into the rock, shattering it into dozens of pieces.

"Rasengan," shouted Naruto, again, forming the blue chakra sphere in his right palm.

Minato blinked, "Hey…that's my technique."

Naruto smirked, "Yeah, that old Pervy sage Jiriaya taught it to me."

Minato inwardly laughed at the name. And then, "Jiriaya taught you the Rasengan?"

Naruto nodded, "And guess what. I mastered the third stage in only one week. Impressive, no?"

Minato gaped in wonder at his son. _'No way! It took me years to perfect that jutsu. And he passed the third stage in only one week. How is that possible?'_

"That's…that's," began Minato, trying to process what he just heard, "pretty amazing…What about my Flying Thunder God Technique? Do you know that one?"

Naruto's face fell and he looked away, "Sadly, no. But only because Jiriaya said I wasn't ready…and..." He stopped and a shadow fell over his face. "He died before I could reach the level he wanted me too."

"Jiriaya died too? Was he killed?"

Naruto slowly nodded, "Yeah, but…that's behind me. I'd…rather not talk about that stuff right now. So, are you going to show me _you're _Rasengan," he asked trying to change the subject.

It worked as Minato nodded, deciding it was best not to press the past with Naruto. He could tell his son had been extremely close to his Sensei. Raising his arm, Minato too, formed the bright blue Rasengan sphere.

For a moment, both sized up each other's attack, wondering what would happen when two Rasengan clashed. And then both charged at the same time, thrusting simultaneously. The clash of the two Rasengan sent chakra bolts flying everywhere. Both fighters tried to overpower the other, but their strength was equal and both attacks cancelled out.

Raising his free hand, Naruto formed a second Rasengan, this one bigger than the first. "Great Ball Rasengan!" Minato's eyes widened.

'_Impossible!'_

"And that's not the half of it," said Naruto. With a sudden focus, Naruto began to gather a different type of energy. Minato's eyes widened at first and then he stepped back in confusion and then fear.

"No," he said, watching the blades of a shuriken form on Naruto's now greenish looking Rasengan. "Don't tell me that you did it? You added…whoaaa."

As Naruto's attack completed, a gush of wind slammed into Minato, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"How do you like it father? I call this the RasenShuriken. They told me that you were never able to add elemental composition to the Rasengan. It took me a few days, but I did it.

Minato was speechless. "It took me many years to perfect that technique. How…how did you do it?"

Naruto smiled, "You know those clones dad? Most people can't summon two thousand clones like me. Because I could, I could train with two thousand clones at once. You know that once you dispel them, everything the clones did or learned is brought back to the original."

Minato's eyes widened, "Of course. With your infinite chakra supply and this training method, it would have been possible to do years worth of training in just a few days." Minato gave a soft chuckle, "My…I'm jealous…jealous and at the same time proud. Surpassed by my own son. I'm…" Minato sat down, "let's see it in action."

He activated his own Rasengan, but Naruto shook his head, "Oh no. No no no, I can't do that. Sakura would never forgive me if I used it on you. You get hit with this thing and I promise you you're out of action for awhile," said Naruto, dispelling the jutsu.

Minato sighed, "Ah well, I guess. I could feel the force of the chakra from here. That's…that's quite a move. Well, that wasn't a bad spar," said Minato laughing, "I got quite a workout. You're a tough little bugger."

Naruto smiled, "Thanks dad. You're just as impressive as they say. It almost gives me a rush to imagine what fighting you for real would be like."

Confused, Minato tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

"I mean with our full strengths," said Naruto. "I can tell you held back a lot, and it's no lie when I say I only showed you a portion of what I can do. I haven't even gone into my Super Naruto mode."

And then, he felt the wind knocked out of him as he flew head first into a tree, landing next to his father. He groaned, as he rubbed his stomach where the punch had hit him, while Minato laughed when he saw who the attacker was.

"Damnit," groaned Naruto, clutching his stomach, "only one person hits that hard." She had pink hair and was his wife. "Damn, that hurt." As he said this, Naruto was trying to stand, but he failed miserably and collapsed to the ground.

In front of him, Sakura stood, growling, "That's right, dear. And don't you forget it. That's what you get for ditching our date."

Naruto groaned, "Shit! I forgot. Sorry Sakura...I..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses," she snarled.

As she reached down to help him up, she stopped and sniffed. An ugly look passed her face and she backed up. "By the way, sweety, you stink." Naruto glanced down at the mud on his shirt. He glared at his father, who was smirking.

"You stink too, Sensei," said Kakashi, holding his nose.

This time, Minato growled as well, "Watch it Kakashi! I might be dead in the future, but right now, I'm your Hokage."

Kakashi laughed, "I felt an abnormal chakra surge in the area as we approached. Don't tell me he used his RasenShuriken technique?" Minato nodded.

Kakashi laughed, "Aw, you look kind of pale. Don't worry, none of us would ever want to get hit by it. We've all seen just exactly how bad it can be."

Minato nodded, as he watched Naruto interact with his friends. "He's remarkable. He said he once studied under Jiriaya. And then he mentioned a super form. Does that mean he's achieved Sage Mode?"

"Not just achieved," replied Kakashi, "he's mastered it. And with his clones, he's managed to come up with a neat little trick for battle. His power is incredible…"

Kakashi shook his head, "It's more than just that. Naruto's strength lies in his determination and his dedication to his friends. He'll do anything to keep his friends safe and he will never give up even in the most life threatening situations. And despite all his stubbornness and all the ridicule he's taken in his life, he has never truly been defeated by anyone. He truly carried on your legacy."

Minato smiled, "I think…I think I just found a new best friend….my son from the future." He laughed.

And together, they made their way back to the Uzumaki residence where, upon their arrival, they met a very aggravated mother-to-be. "You two," she said to Minato and Naruto, "need a bath." Both ran. But that's another story.


	7. Nine Tails Defeated

Lionheart: Hey everyone, this is the official chapter. Made a few revisions after a hurried write job. I'll try to update as quickly as possible. It's been a full year since I've updated, but I'm determined to get this story finished to the end. Naruto the manga has gone a long way and I'm not sure if many of you would agree with me, but it's getting a bit dull. It should be called Sasuke now, Lol.

**Nine Tails Defeated**

"Attention everyone."

Standing upon a podium, on the roof of the Hokage Tower, Minato addressed the some thousands of Shinobi Chuunin rank or higher in the village.

Men and women snapped to attention, neatly lined up in perfect rows and columns as they listened attentively.

"We received reports yesterday that the demon beast, Kyuubi, otherwise known as the Nine-Tailed Fox, is currently headed in our direction. Reports indicate he will arrive before nightfall, which can be anywhere from four to eight hours."

Gasps from the lower ranked Chuunin could be heard as they nearly took steps back in fright, while the upper ranking ninja put on grim faces. Murmurs could be heard throughout the ranks as the ninja discussed this new information.

Minato took a breath before continuing, "As many of you know, this beast does not operate on the same level as we humans. We can expect that its presence will mean great destruction and harm to this country if we do not take action against it immediately. As such, all missions have been cancelled, and all forces are now being mobilized to hold off this threat."

Though grim faced, each of the Shinobi nodded. An ANBU raised his hand. Minato nodded towards him. "Lord Hokage, with all due respect…the nine tailed fox is rumored to be the strongest of all tailed beasts, with nearly unlimited chakra. How can we fight such a monster?"

"We will use all of our military force and defeat this foe," answered Minato. His soldiers stiffened, and as one, they nodded. Minato's face softened. "The will of fire…long has it been the driving force that has led this land to greatness. As long as each and every one of us fights alongside this 'will of fire,' there is nothing we need be afraid of. Conquer your fears and stand beside me. My brothers…my comrades, stand by me today and lend me your strength and your courage. Together…together, we will prevail. Who's with me," he roared.

A mighty roar came from the thousands of men gathered there as they punched the air with confidence.

As Minato spoke firmly to his Shinobi, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai watched from a nearby roof. "He's just as impressive as the books say," complimented Sai.

Sakura nodded, "he's a good leader. I like how he was able to instill all that confidence into his warriors."

Kakashi nodded, "Well, that is one of the duties that comes with being the leader of an army of Shinobi.

The three were dressed in standard Jounin outfits, leaning against the rail of the building as they watched Minato address his audience.

"Guess we're all in for a rough night."

"Hello Mrs. Uzumaki," greeted Kakashi, barely turning his head. Sakura and Sai both turned and smiled.

"Hi Kushina," said Sakura.

Sai merely nodded his head.

The pink haired woman nearly laughed, "Haha, and here I was thinking I snuck up on you guys." She paused and looked around.

"Hey, where's my son?"

The three of them shrugged. "That idiot," said Sakura, "he ran off this morning and only left a note saying he would be back later."

"He is probably doing some last minute preparations," noted Sai. "Before I slept last night, I left him on the roof of our apartment. He had a most curious look upon his face,"

Kushina frowned, "Well, as much as I don't condone men leaving their wives in a hurry…" She winked at Sakura, "…I guess I can see that some preparations must be done." She tilted her head curiously, "And what are you three doing? Enjoying the scenery?"

Kakashi smirked, "You could say something like that. What about you, Kushina, shouldn't you be resting for your birth tonight? I don't think Sakura enjoys you getting up and about like this."

And true enough, Sakura did look a little uneasy, "Um, Mrs. Uzumaki, as much as I hate to agree with Kakashi Sensei, he is kind of right."

The older woman stomped her feet likely in a mild pout, "You all are no fun…making me lie in bed all day. Fine, whatever, I'll return to the hospital. You better join me there soon, Sakura. I can't lie there alone all day." As she turned, she bent her legs slightly as if ready to jump.

"NO, wait;" shouted Sakura, "you can't do that."

Kushina grinned as she turned back. "I'm just kidding." She pointed to an open door and steps leading back into the building, "I took the stairs. See you soon, dears," she said, as she vanished from sight.

"I better go with her," said Sakura, after a moment, "tell Naruto I want to see him when he gets back." Kakashi and Sai nodded, as Sakura walked away after Kushina.

"I think those two get along quite well," commented Sai.

Kakashi leaned back lazily against fence, "And you thought two women like that wouldn't?"

Sai ignored the comment. Instead, he pointed below, where blurs could be seen as Minato dismissed his men, assigning each of them different tasks. Moments later, Minato himself joined them on the roof. "The men are getting everything prepared and the Genin teams are evacuating all villagers. You sure the Nine Tails will arrive from the northwest?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, are the preparations complete?"

Minato nodded, "Everything is set. I have the Jounins spread out around the area. They'll support us from behind, throwing whatever they've got. Chuunins will be stationed behind the Jounin teams in the event they are needed as backup. I've got ANBU teams in key locations outside and inside the village. I have them on lookout for Madara or any other unwanted guests. And of course, your group as well as I shall be at the very front."

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, quite so. You'll take Sakura's place as she will be assisting with your wife's birth."

Minato nodded, and then, glancing around, asked, "So, um, where's my son?"

Kakashi shrugged, "He ran off this morning. I imagine he'll be back soon."

The Hokage sighed and then nodded, "Alright then, I'm off to pay a visit to my wife. We'll meet up at our designated positions within one hour and hope Naruto has returned by then."

Kakashi and Sai nodded and bowed, while Minato leapt away into the distance. "I have a feeling we're in for a long night," said Sai. Kakashi sighed and looked in the direction the Nine Tails would come from. His normally twinkling eyes were completely serious.

**One Hour Before Attack**

It turned out Naruto had visited Mt. Myobokuzan to set up three clones to gather natural energy. Kakashi, Sai, and Minato joined him as they arrived at their designated location. Several Chuunin had been assigned to chop down trees in the surrounding forest to create a large clearing big enough for Minato and Naruto's summons.

"This is it," declared Minato, "are you prepared Kakashi?"

Kakashi waved lazily.

Minato nodded and then he dropped down, plopping down onto the grass. Patting beside him, he invited the others to join him. In a circle, they shared a moment of silence, before Minato looked up, "So…what now?"

"We sit and wait," asked Naruto, trying to contain a grin at his father's poor attempt to make conversation. "Actually, I'm looking forward to this. I did some special things today and we got an unexpected ally."

The three others looked at him. Suspicion in his eyes, Kakashi asked, "What ally?"

Naruto grinned, "Why, the nine tailed fox, who else? He's agreed to aid us in the fight against this time's Nine Tails. I bet that silly fox will get a run for his money…what?" Three pairs of eyes rested on him and three jaws had dropped as far as they would go.

"Y-you're kidding me."

Naruto shrugged, "I figured out some of the Sharingan abilities, and apparently, I can boss the Nine Tails around now," he said. His eyes twinkled mischievously and one could only imagine what circumstances he and his imprisoned beast went through. "That crazy dude gave me a contract so I can summon big foxes to help us. Plus, I can put him in check in case he tries to overpower me."

"Ah, Naruto," began his father, worriedly, "are you sure that's safe?" Worry was evident in his eyes."

The blonde waved him off, "Oh, it's no problem. You can definitely trust me. I got this idea from our man Madara." His companions were not quite so sure of that and the further revelation that he was copying tricks from Madara did not reassure them.

Unfortunately they could not press him for more details as a Jounin arrived, "Lord Hokage!" He knelt to the ground, tilting his head towards the ground respectively. Despite this, his deep breaths and urgent manner of speaking was a clear sign his message was important.

Indicating he could rise, Minato asked, "What is it? Any developments?"

The man nodded, "Sir, two men from a Jounin scout team that was deployed to the northwestern border have just returned. They spotted a man wearing a strange black cloak with red clouds and an orange mask. They said this man annihilated their squad and was currently headed this way." He paused, "Sir," he continued worried, "the men also detected an extreme pressure of chakra…"

Naruto exchanged worried glances with Sai and Kakashi. Catching on, Minato realized this man must have been the one who had tagged along with them on their time travel trip. Turning back to his man, he ordered, "Very well, order all patrols back here immediately and tell the men to prepare for combat. Inform Captain Hatake to have his ANBU on full alert for this man. Any sign of him and they should immediately shoot flares into the sky. Oh, and this man…his skill is of S-Rank, extreme caution is advised."

The Jounin was startled by this revelation but he quickly nodded and fled. Behind Minato, Kakashi blinked, "Captain Hatake? Is that me?" He chuckled.

Minato grinned, "I figure the best man I can rely on for the moment is you…err… him."

Naruto chuckled, "I might be interested in meeting this young Kakashi," he said with a grin. "I bet he's even more of a prick than you Sensei," he said to his former leader. Kakashi scowled.

"Watch it," he muttered.

And then the chakra hit them. Even Naruto was forced to brace himself as a fierce wind blew upon the area, enforced by a chakra so strong that lower level Jounin were knocked down.

In a flash, Naruto's eyes had gone from bright blue to fierce red, with the Sharingan eyes appearing, "He's coming!"

**Moments Before Attack**

"Where is it?!"

"I don't see it!"

"Stay ready men," shouted Minato, over the roar of the wind. Ever since the initial burst, there had been a steadily increasing amount of chakra pressure in the area. The Chuunin were forced further back, unable to handle it, while all Jounin fanned out appropriately. In the clearing, at the front of the line, were father and son.

On Gamabunta, Minato stood at the ready, an eerie look upon his face.

Nearby, Naruto stood on top of a large fox summon. His name was Itsuka, the strongest fox summon available. Although not nearly as powerful as the Nine Tails on its own, with Naruto commanding him, he was much more of a threat. Behind them, on a cliff made entirely from earth jutsu, were Sai and Kakashi. Three Jounin Teams surrounded them, although Sai floated above them on a hawk made of his ink. And everywhere else, stood the thousands of men, anxiously anticipating the arrival of their enemy.

"Any moment now," shouted Kakashi, over the howling wind, "Brace yourselves."

In front, Minato turned to his son, "Are you ready," he yelled?

"Any…"

And then it happened. From the sky, a massive ball of red chakra hurtled towards the ground. Most men would have frozen and waited for their impending doom. The Shinobi of Leaf were not like most men. As one, they summoned their chakra, shooting whatever elemental jutsu they had towards the mass in the sky. It seemed to halt the nine tails path, as the beast stopped in midair and crashed to the ground.

As its rotation stopped, the Shinobi stared in horror at the menace threatening their well-being. A great big fox, nearly as tall as mountains, approached them. A sinister red chakra surrounded its body and its nine great tails flickered about crushing trees where they stood.

But even more amazing was the giant fox that served as their front defender. On top of Itsuka, Naruto sat down, crossing his legs. It wasn't long before a yellow aura surrounded Itsuka's body. Gasps could be heard from the Shinobi below and the bright light attracted the real Nine Tail's attention to it. He seemed to be amused that a great Fox stood in his path.

"**Boy,"** he spoke out in his deep voice, **"Tell me where you learned that summon!" **

Naruto opened his eyes, "You're in for a world of hurt, you bastard."

And before anyone could respond, move, gasp, or do anything at all, Naruto and Itsuka vanished. The Nine Tails seemed to have an idea of something happened for it howled and tried to jump. It was late in its move as Itsuka appeared before him, slashing violently with an arm. A crater the size of a small house appeared beneath them, as the Nine Tailed blocked the attack and retaliated with its own. As the two beasts fought for an advantage over the other, Minato pointed ahead.

"Strike Gamambunta. Aim for its tails."

"You got it," muttered the frog boss, leaping forward. Softly, the frog summon landed behind the Nine Tails, drawing his sword for a long sweeping strike. He didn't get a chance to attack, as one of beast's nine tails slammed into his side, knocking him away. Minato grunted, but with his chakra, managed to stay on his ally's head.

A second tail from overhead, threatened to slam down upon them, but with a quick flick with his tail, Itsuka saved them.

"Careful," said the Fox Lord, landing next to them, "Don't let your guard down for a second."

The Nine-Tails, now aware that a force of me was blocking its path, roared furiously. The earth itself seemed to shake as it stalked forward like a tiger creeping up on its prey. As it did, the ninja of Leaf involuntarily stepped back. That is until their leader shouted out, "Stand your ground!"

The fox leapt forward, raising its claw for a strike. Itsuka and Gamabunta leapt to the sides, dodging the strike. The ANBU team stationed behind them was not as fast, blown away by the chakra pressure into the nearby woods. A medic team quickly went to their aid.

Meanwhile, Sai quickly sketched a blob on his page before summoning it and hurling it at the fox's eyes. Using its tails, the fox shielded itself to prevent blindness. In doing so, he left his side wide open, which Itsuka took advantage of, biting into the soft flesh of his enemy.

The fox roared in fury, before pushing both Itsuka and an approaching Gamabunta away with a surge of chakra. Leaping backwards to avoid several Ninjutsu techniques by the back up Jounin teams, the fox readied its next attack.

"**Die pesky humans,"** roared the Nine-Tails. He opened his mouth, and chakra began to gather, forming a small sphere. A moment later, a stream of pure chakra was shot out towards Minato and Naruto with incredible speed.

"I've got it," yelled a voice. Above them, Sai swooped lower, his hands placed together. "Art of the Summoning: Triple Rashoumon!" In front of Naruto, three colored gates with an intimidating face emerged from the ground. The chakra stream burst through the first gate easily, but quickly fizzled out to nothing as it struck the second barrier.

Taking the split second after the nine tails attack, Itsuka dashed forward ramming into his enemy. During this exchange, Naruto leapt off his summon and onto the Nine Tailed Fox's head. With a burst chakra, he created a Great Ball Rasengan.

Minato had seen a lot in battle. But when he saw the explosion and the Kyuubi's head forced into the ground in front of him, he could do nothing but gasp. Smoke filled the area, and for a second the chakra pressure eased up. The Jounin all gasped at their strange and powerful new ally, wondering where his strength came from. Ahead, the smoke was beginning to clear. Two large shapes, which could only be the two foxes, appeared and for a moment, everyone held their breath wondering what had happened.

Minato's eyes widened. To his amazement, the Nine-Tails had completely stopped. It seemed unable to move. Itsuka watched while Naruto seemed to be in deep concentration, his hands raised in front of him.

"**NO! NO! What are you…stop it…boy…pl…"**

The nine tailed fox stopped speaking and suddenly sat down. Its tails stopped thrashing violently and a glazed look came over his eyes.

From the front Itsuka turned to them, "Naruto says to begin the banishment technique!"

To all those watching, Kakashi emerged forward, and placed his hands together. His Mangekyo Sharingan was already activated. "Kamui," he murmured. The very air seemed to be distorted, forming a vortex. Slowly the Nine-Tails was sucked along with the air, his shape becoming a blur of red-orange color. There was no struggle, the fox could not struggle, not while it was trapped within Naruto's gaze.

By now the remaining Jounin had dropped their guards, staring at the sight in wonder. Here were two men they had never seen before fighting off the legendary Nine Tailed Fox. The blonde on the Fox summon looked suspiciously like the Hokage himself. Meanwhile, the Sharingan user had a Sharingan unlike any they had ever seen. His appearance gave no clue to which clan he belonged to either.

Their attentions were so distracted that in fact, they failed to notice the two dead Chuunin guarding the North Gate, killed by none other than Madara Uchiha.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

With an arrogant stride, Madara walk through the deserted streets of Leaf Village. The sounds of the battle had died down and he was sure it was nearing an end. He didn't mind the quiet. The shouting and yelling had always been an annoyance. As he walked, even Madara Uchiha experienced a feeling of nostalgia. It had been many years since he enjoyed a stroll in the village, and he smiled as he passed by the familiar Uchiha Compound. At the moment the entire Uchiha Police Force was outside assisting in the defense of the village. He paused for a moment to curse the traitors, before turning away in a huff. His task was not with the Uchiha tonight. Instead, he made his way towards the hospital.

He had known they would find a way to defeat the Nine Tailed Fox. Unfortunately, with the village's forces distracted, now was the perfect time to accomplish what he wished to do without any interruption.

Or so he thought.

"Halt!"

Madara eye twitched. An unexpected encounter? Turning, he found himself staring down a white haired ANBU member. For a second, he was concerned, recognizing the man. And then he remembered that he was back in the past.

"Fancy meeting you out here…Hatake Kakashi," greeted Madara amused. .

The ANBU removed his mask to reveal a younger Kakashi.

"You must be the guy with the mask that the Hokage was looking for. I don't know how you got into the village, but this is as far as you go." Before Madara could reply, the younger Kakashi raised some sort of item. He flicked it into the air and sent an exploding kunai after it. The flare, as it turned out to be, soared into the sky spreading into a bright red light that hung in the sky for several moments.

Madara sighed, "How annoying." He turned back to Kakashi, "And I suppose you think you're going to stop me?"

Kakashi suddenly vanished. Madara grunted, detecting a surge of chakra and the familiar cackling of electricity. Using his technique, he watched as Kakashi's Lightning Blade passed through him harmlessly. He was amused by the man's shocked response.

"W-what the…I hit you!"

"Yes, well, I am still standing you see," he said, smiling pleasantly. Leaping forward, he swung his fist out. Kakashi made to block, but to his surprise, his opponent passed right through him. From behind, Madara became solid, dragging Kakashi by his shirt. Stopping suddenly, he threw out a sharp right punch, sending the ANBU flying into a nearby stand.

With a groan, Kakashi stood, flicking up his headband in the process. Opening his eye, he allowed his Sharingan to analyze his opponent.

"Sharingan," asked Madara? "Interesting. Come and get me then."

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

The pain was constant, spreading through Kushina's body like violent storm. She groaned as she twisted and turned; all in an effort to cease the intense waves of pain. Nearby, Sakura calmly urged her to push while holding her hands as gently as possible.

The pain had grown steadily since Kushina announced her water broke. To Sakura's amazement, the woman stubbornly refused to shout out or moan too loudly with each wave of pain. Impressing the staff with her commanding personality and her knowledge of births, Sakura quickly took charge. As no female doctor had been present, she demanded to be the one to receive the baby, claiming it was a woman's job to supervise a birth anyway. No one dared argue with her when she punched the wall, cracking it.

"C'mon Mrs. Uzumaki, you can do it! Push, push and the pain will go away."

Struggling, Kushina attempted to do as she was told. Wearily, she looked around. Five pairs of eyes were trained on her and none were the ones she wanted to see. "Ayame…" she gasped, "Where's my husband and…Akuro?" Both men had assured her that Kakashi would be able to banish the demon away quickly and that they would rush over in time for her birth. Clearly, their failure to appear so far was beginning to worry her.

Quickly, Sakura turned and ordered one of the assistants to check outside for any signs of the battle. Although the village had been evacuated, a special team had remained behind to take care of Kushina. "Be careful," shouted Sakura as he vanished. She turned back to Kushina, who looked at her hopefully.

"They aren't here yet…but I'm sure it's only a matter of time." She smiled at Kushina's worry. "Don't worry about them, just focus on the birth." Easier said than done.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The silence was inevitable. One second, they had been struggling under the enormous chakra pressure of one of the most deadly beasts in existence. The next, it was all over. The Sharingan man had used some technique, and the demon fox was gone. Stunned Jounin looked at one another in confusion, while the lesser men collapsed to the ground in relief, happy to have their lives.

At the front, Naruto and Minato, both having vanished their summons stared at the spot where a monster previously threatened them.

Above them, Sai floated above, with Kakashi resting on his creations back. The latter was exhausted, but without too much struggle from the demon fox, it had been relatively easy to send him away. Still, each Kamui was taxing on the body, regardless of what he was trying to remove.

And then the cheers started. It began in the back with a squad of Chuunins roaring loudly, clapping their hands. The effect was instantaneous. The clapping spread like wildfire and many men surrounded both Naruto and Minato, cheering them and yelling out words of support and joy.

Both father and son shared sheepish glances, before joining in the cheering. Above them, Sai glided until he was low enough to land. Kakashi dropped to the ground, breathing heavily, but able to stand. It didn't matter anyway, because he was soon hoisted into the air. The sight was something of a comedy.

Rubbing his head, Kakashi waved to the surrounding men in embarrassment. They cheered even more.

That's when a Jounin noticed the flare. The cheering stopped and all turned to Minato for orders. Now that their attentions were focused, they could detect the chakra levels soaring within the village.

"Quick," shouted Minato, "get to that flare!"

"Damn," said Naruto, "we forgot all about Madara. He probably slipped right by us."

"C'mon," said Kakashi, "Sakura and Kushina are both in the village. Stop dawdling!"

Naruto nodded and with impressive speed, he shot ahead of the pack towards the North Gate. _'Please be okay, Sakura…Mom.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Ugh!"

Coughing up blood, Kakashi struggled to stand. He had figured out Madara's technique, which was simply that he was able to move his body parts to a separate dimension while leaving an image of them behind. This seemed to be an ability that could be used within a split second and at will. He figured the best bet would be to hit the man as he materialized back into the real world. Still, this was a lot easier said than done. Every attempt he made to predict the man's moves ended up with him taking a punch to the face. Luckily for him, for some reason, his opponent didn't really seem intent on killing him.

"What's wrong," asked Madara, "you seem a bit flustered."

"Who are you," asked Kakashi, trying to bide some time. The chakra pressure from the Nine Tailed fox had vanished. He could only assume that it had been defeated or forced to retreat. A loud cheer from outside the village told him that it had probably been the former. Hopefully, in their excitement, they would notice his flares.

"A good question," answered Madara, "but I don't see any reason for me to tell you that." He paused suddenly and looked towards the North Gate. "Hm, as much as I love this chat…the Hokage is on his way. I'd rather not stick around to fight him. Not yet anyway. Toodles!"

Kakashi raised a hand, "Wait," but it was too late. The man had vanished.

At the same time, nearby, three ANBU teams landed. "Captain Hatake! We saw the flares!"

Kakashi whirled around, "Quick, get teams throughout the village. There's an S-Class man on the loose!"

"Sir!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Here he is, Mrs. Uzumaki."

Weary, but smiling, Kushina, took her newborn baby in her arms. The baby was crying, but otherwise seemed okay. The actual birth had not been as bad as some of her female friends had led her to believe. Sakura had gently talked her through the entire ordeal, claiming her strength and will were among the strongest she had ever seen.

"He's beautiful," murmured Kushina.

"Ma'am," asked one of the doctors on staff, "what is his name?"

Sakura smiled at Kushina's immediate response. "Naruto," she said without hesitation, "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Thank you," said the doctor, bowing, before leaving the room, leaving Sakura and Kushina alone. Well, not quite alone.

"Congratulations on your baby Mrs. Uzumaki."

Unable to move quickly, Kushina was only able to turn her head towards the source of the noise; the window. Her eyes widened. Meanwhile, Sakura had immediately jumped in front of her charge, a scalpel in her hands. Bright pink chakra surrounded it. Her eyes widened also. "You!"

Madara Uchiha hopped off the window and into the room. "Good evening to you too Sakura. I thought I'd pop by to say hello to the little Naruto. Is something wrong?"

His answer was the scalpel flying towards his face.


	8. Who the Hell are they?

**Lionheart: **Another update =) Would love to hear some feedback everyone. Thanks

I'm also looking for a beta, or perhaps someone who is interested in writing along with me. Time is a bit short for me, and I do have other things to do. However, I am determined to get this story through to the end and I have roughly mapped out where I want it to go and how it will end.

**Who the Hell are they?**

"You!"

Madara Uchiha hopped off the window and into the room. "Good evening to you too Sakura. I thought I'd pop by to say hello to the little Naruto. Is something wrong?"

His answer was the scalpel flying towards his face.

"Whoa whoa," cried out the man, raising his arms in defense.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_Damnit, where did he go?"_ Jumping from roof to roof, Kakashi grunted as he looked for any sign of the man he had just fought. At the same time, he silently berated himself for letting the man escape in the first place. Not that there was much he could have done anyway to prevent it. He knew he had been outmatched after he took the first hit. If anything, it was his reputation and ego that had suffered. He wondered how he would be able to look the Hokage in the eye after being given such an enormous responsibility.

With each passing moment, his anxiety steadily grew. He was sure the mysterious ninja had some purpose in the village. And it was going to be up to him to stop him from achieving what he was certain was some malicious plan.

"Captain Hatake!"

Stopping, Kakashi glanced to the side. His eyes widened slightly. Quickly, he knelt down on a knee, "Lord Hokage," he greeted respectfully. As Minato landed, Kakashi took note of the army trailing him. All of them had serious faces.

"We saw the flare," said Minato, "what happened?"

"Lord Hokage," began Kakashi, all business, "I intercepted that man you told me to look out for."

Minato's eyes widened, "And, what happened; where did he go?"

Kakashi hesitated. Sighing he said, "Sir, I lost him."

There was no time for any response. A powerful chakra exploded within their midst. An orange glow surrounded Naruto's body. A change had come over the young man. His eyes had a fierce and wild look about them. He leaned towards the Hokage Residence, almost possessed. "He's here…the hospital…"

And then, to the amazement of all present, he vanished.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Whoa whoa," cried out the man, raising his arms in defense.

The scalpel passed harmlessly through Madara's face, despite his fake worry. There was a crash in the distance as the projectile broke through the walls of a residential building.

Dropping his arms slowly, Madara sighed, "Now, was that really necessary?"

Breathing heavily, Sakura bent into a fighting position. She raised her fists up, "What do you want," she asked?

"Really now," began Madara irritably, "I thought I made myself clear the first time. I wished to congratulate Mrs. Uzumaki there on the new baby." He nodded towards her. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Yeah, there is," she snapped. "You know I don't trust you Madara. Just get out of here."

Madara rolled his eyes, and then stepped forward. He was already prepared as Sakura's body flew past him. A very loud crash that shook the very room, made him cringe. He carefully placed a hand on Kushina to prevent her from falling out of the bed. She recoiled at his touch, staring up at him in fear.

"Let go of her," demanded Sakura.

Turning, Madara noted that a pink chakra was covering the female ninja's body. She seemed furious beyond reasoning. Behind her, a gaping hole replaced what had previously been a wall. The force of her punch must have knocked it clean away.

Ignoring her, Madara said, "You know, they call that destruction of village property." He received a growl in response.

"What do you really want," asked Sakura. Madara turned away from her. To his surprise, she didn't attack him. With an amused smile, he turned to Kushina. The fear in her eyes was replaced with a sort of stubborn courage.

"Wahhhhhhh."

The sudden outburst of baby Naruto distracted all of them. Three heads turned to the crying newborn waving his hands in the air and making a fuss. "See what you did now," said Madara, "you scared the little kid."

Ignoring him, Sakura rushed over to check the baby, who was now in his mother's arms. She shook him gently, while keeping one fierce glance over at Madara. The Uchiha raised his arms in mock surrender, "Hey, hey, I won't do anything here. Trust me, if I had wanted to kill you, I would have done so already."

There was an awkward silence as Sakura checked the baby's vitals with her medical instruments. Kushina stared at her feet, shooting glances over at Madara every few seconds. The sudden realization that their lives were in Madara's hands seemed to have calmed both women down. Sakura was listening to the baby's heartbeat when Kushina spoke up, "Thank you…thank you for not harming my baby…" Her eyes were downcast, but she was clearly tearing up.

Madara grunted and then waved her off. He had moved over to the window and seemed to be watching for something. He smirked, "Aha…"

"What," asked Sakura?

Madara bowed, "Sadly, my visit has been cut short." As he said this, they all felt the powerful chakra signatures approaching the hospital. "As much as I'd love to," continued Madara, "I do not have the time to engage in fisticuffs with your lovely husband." He turned to Kushina, and she could almost see the amused look behind his mask. With a wave, the Akatsuki leader said, Bye now."

And he vanished just as Naruto reached the hole in the wall, "MADARA!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Three Days Later**

Once upon a time, Naruto would have given anything to get a single admiring look. Understandable, considering the abuse and loneliness he was forced to endure in his childhood as a result of the nine tailed fox being sealed within him. Also, considering the fact that as a child, attention was the one thing he sought the most. He remembered how proud, how heroic, he had felt when Kakashi had carried him into Leaf Village after defeating Pein. Surrounded and praised by all the villagers. It was the very first time he had been acknowledged like that.

Now it was getting a bit annoying. Ever since that evening, he had been the talk of the village. The story of how he had fought the Nine Tailed Fox spread like wildfire. And, as how usually happens, with each telling of the story, the true events became more and more distorted. Walking past the academy with Sakura, he could just make out the little children's muffled whispers. Of how "Daddy said he wrestled the fox with his own two hands."

Or the gawking instructors that claimed they saw him blast the fox away with Ninjutsu. Or the villagers that had heard he made the fox vanish in the blink of an eye.

"Gah," groaned Naruto, shaking his head. "I can't believe this; they're making me out to be some kind of God."

Next to him, Sakura giggled, "Why are you so upset dear? Isn't that what you always wanted to be?"

"No! Well, yes, but…gah, it's just they don't even know what happened. And here they are making all this kind of crap up. I…"

"OH OH, it's him!"

A trio of giggling girls quickly rushed up to Naruto. They looked to be in their twenties, and were probably, judging by the vests they wore, Chuunin. Sakura's eyes narrowed as she watched them give her husband a good look. All three seemed excited, hopping up and down slightly, with blushing faces.

"Oh wow, you must be the guy everyone's talking about," started the one in the middle. She was of average height, with long brown hair and hazel eyes. "Akuro right?"

Before a slightly amused Naruto could respond, Sakura stepped forward, "Yes, he's my husband."

It was like one of those awkward situations where nobody was sure how to respond or how to proceed with the conversation. The trio of girls all gaped at her in surprise, while Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "I'm Ayame," continued Sakura, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. More like a glare that threatened they split before she hurt them…badly.

There was some mumbled greeting before the brown haired girl turned, "Oh, um, I just remembered we needed to get to the academy. Hehe, we have a class to teach. Nice to meet you Akuro…Ayame." The other two nodded as well and as quick as they had appeared, they were gone.

Naruto chuckled lightly, watching as they vanished around a corner. He gave his wife an amused glance, with his eyebrows raised and his lips curled into an annoying smile. She glared at him, until they both broke out laughing.

They continued with their morning stroll throughout the village enjoying the scenery and the break from fighting. Shop keepers urged them into their stores; every shopkeeper wants a celebrity in their store. Most places they passed offered free food, weapons, scrolls, whatever it took to boost their reputation.

They were headed to Ichiraku Ramen when a voice stopped them.

"Yo!"

Nearby, Kakashi, in his new form appeared. Sai quickly followed. He seemed different, his hair cut more evenly and his normally pale skin now a bit tanned. For a moment, Naruto and Sakura did not recognize him.

"Hey," they both greeted, gawking at Sai, with confused expressions.

"I'll explain later," said Kakashi, "now's not the best place. Hokage wants us…let's go!"

The four of them vanished. Meanwhile two pairs of eyes watched them from the shadows of an alleyway.

"Those were the ones Sir," said one of the men, a young masked ANBU. He knelt at the side of an aging man with grey hair and a patch over his eyes. Danzo, elder of Leaf Village, stared warily at the spot the four new Shinobi he had been watching were. He had heard the rumors of the men who had single handedly fought off the nine tailed fox. And he had also heard the story Minato had told them the previous night about their abrupt presence in the village. Unlike the ignorant and fat clan heads, he didn't believe a word of it, and now, it was up to him to find out their identities and purpose.

"Who…the hell…are they," he muttered.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Lord Hokage." They bowed simultaneously, lined up in a neat row in front of Minato and Sarutobi.

Minato nodded, "I have some good news and some bad news." He paused, waiting for a reply, but instead saw four neutral faces staring back at him expectantly. "Ahem, anyway, the good news first I guess. There was a meeting last night by the council…they were so impressed by your alleged performance three days ago that they took our story about your backgrounds without question. They look forward to your Jounin Exam results, although, they, as well as I agree you would make fine Jounin."

"That's…good," asked Naruto? "I thought we were keeping a low profile."

"That's a bit hard," interrupted Sarutobi, "considering your displays of strength against the nine tailed fox. We're going to have to proceed very carefully. While most of the council, like I said, is ignorant, we are getting a lot of heat from Danzo. And that brings us to the bad news. Kakashi spotted two of his Root members stalking him and he's been having you followed all day."

"Those three girls," said Naruto suddenly. Sakura turned to him, her mouth wide open.

"What?!"

"There were three girls that ran up to us," explained Naruto. "That brown haired girl was no Chuunin instructor, but she certainly played her part well, bringing her friends or acquaintances along. I saw her hands…heavily calloused from holding swords, as well as several hidden weapons on her body and in her vest. No Chuunin instructor I know wields swords enough to have hands like that, nor do they carry kunais with exploding tags in their sleeves."

There was a brief moment; both Minato and Sarutobi stared at him with surprise, clearly impressed with his observations.

"Danzo was there as well," noted Sai. "I followed him this morning. He's had Root members follow Kakashi as well as myself, and he's been keeping tabs on Naruto and Sakura."

Minato sighed, "He is certainly going to be a nuisance." Minato paused and turned his head out towards the window. "I can guarantee you Danzo will watch those exams like a hawk. And even though you do have the council's approval as well as the skills, the Jounin Exams are tradition. We can't just let you skip them. Kakashi was promoted during the war, but seeing as how we're at peace right now…"

"Its fine," said Kakashi, "although it would be nice if you could tell us what to expect."

Minato nodded to Sarutobi, "its fine. We already established their abilities are far beyond Jounin level."

Sarutobi nodded, "Right." He cleared his throat, and then began, "The Jounin Exams take place over the course of two days. On the first day, Jounin candidates will be brought up in front of the judges, typically me and Minato, although we expect Danzo will demand to be there. You'll be tested on all three Ninja battle skills, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu. For the Genjutsu round, you will simply be required to dispel a relatively simple Genjutsu and then cast one in return on your opponent. For the Taijutsu round, you will be required to touch a ninja of our choice who will run around the field trying to avoid you. This test is timed, so…" He shrugged.

"Sound easy enough so far," said Kakashi.

"The Ninjutsu one is the hardest for most people. We require all candidates to have mastery over at least two elemental techniques. For you four, I'm sure that's no problem."

They nodded. "That's it," asked Naruto, skeptically. "Wow, it sure doesn't take much to become Jounin. I could have done it when I was 15."

Minato laughed, "Haha, cocky are you? We haven't even told you what the second day is."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"The second day," continued Sarutobi, "will pair up all candidates into teams of two. There are roughly twenty candidates, so don't expect to be paired up with the person of your choice. Ninja need to be able to work…"

"…With anybody, yeah, yeah," interrupted Naruto, "just tell me what to do."

Kakashi sighed and placed a hand to his forward. Sai smiled creepily. Sakura stared at the ceiling. Minato turned to hide a smile that came to his face, while Sarutobi glared at him, "You're Minato's son alright."

"HEY!"

They all laughed. "Anyway," continued Sarutobi, "before I was interrupted…." Naruto rolled his eyes again. "In teams of two you will be required to complete a B-rank mission. You'll be accompanied by a pre-existing Jounin who will submit a report to me of your performance at the end of the mission. You all are required to obey the Jounin's every command; think of it as a way to test your ability to follow directions."

At this, Naruto found himself at the center of attention. He shrugged, "I can follow directions…when I want to."

"Yeah right," said Sakura, "that test is gonna be a nightmare for you."

"Oh yeah," added Sarutobi, "Sometimes the missions put you against ninja of other villages." He smiled, "It won't hurt your performance if you manage to stay alive." He smiled pleasantly at them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Try not to die, he says," grumbled Naruto. They were all back in their cozy little apartment, lounging around. Kakashi sat on his own bed, reading. Sai sketched a picture in the corner, while Naruto and Sakura sat on their shared bed.

"Good advice," said Kakashi, not looking up. "I'd hate to see you bite the dust before me, ehehehe. Try to stay alive, Naruto."

Naruto groaned, rolling over onto his stomach. He gently rested his head in Sakura's lap. "Tch, whatever! So what are you guys going to do for the test?"

"Remember what Minato said," Warned Sakura, massaging his back gently, "nothing too showy."

She turned to Kakashi with a look, "that means no Lightning Blade for you. And no Rasengan for you, Naruto!" Both males glanced uneasily at each other.

"Whoa, Sakura, take it easy eh? We get it."

"We'll be fine," agreed Kakashi, "I don't plan to use any of my special techniques anyway. I'm more concerned about the second day test. And you all should be too. Especially you Naruto. Because you've never really worked under a Jounin before have you?"

Naruto looked up, and tried to recall his previous leaders, "Well, we've been on missions with Asuma Sensei and…Kurenai Sensei too right?"

"No," said Sai, who looked up for the first time, "those were ninja that you were used to working with. This test will put you with a person you know nothing about…and worse, who knows nothing about you."

Naruto closed his eyes, "I get it…they're testing our ability to follow the Jounin leader…even if he's a complete idiot, and how well we can complete the mission with him or her."

Kakashi laughed, "Haha, well, you understand my concern then." His eyes turned more serious. "I've heard stories…" he continued, "just please don't underestimate this exam. It's not about teamwork…well it is, but it's so much more than that too. That Jounin pretty much determines whether you fail or pass."

"I can imagine Kakashi as a Jounin Captain," said Sakura suddenly, "I bet he failed everyone." They laughed.

Kakashi sighed, "I remember that test…all the way back when…when you all were first going for Genin. Back then, you guys were young…so young and immature. Hmph! You really were the first team I ever passed." He laughed. "Just remember, this time, it's a new game. It's a complex test and even I'm not sure how it is graded. So, be careful."

"Teamwork right," said Sakura, "yeah, if we just work together with the team…it'll be fine."

Kakashi shook his head, "I wish it were that simple. We …" he paused. "We've got company."

On cue, there was a knock at the door. Kakashi quickly changed his appearance. A moment later, the door opened. The last person they wanted to see stood before them. Naruto growled lightly, but remained a neutral expression. Sai visibly tensed, while Sakura and Kakashi merely looked on with serious expressions.

"Good afternoon," said Danzo. Two root members stepped in after him. "I was wondering…" continued Danzo, "if you would answer a few of my questions. You see, I can't help but wonder…" He opened his visible eye just a crack, "just who the hell you guys are."


End file.
